Total Drama Ten Years Later
by arysa13
Summary: Ten years after their first season, the original contestants meet back on the island for one last season. Will include aspects of Duncan/Courtney, Heather/Alejandro, Lindsay/Tyler, Noah/Courtney, Geoff/Bridgette and some others but you'll have to read to find out!
1. The Return of the Islanders

**Chapter One – The Return of the Islanders**

"Welcome to the eleventh season of Total Drama! This year we return to CampWawanakwa and in a shocking twist we are bringing back our original twenty-two contestants for a very special reunion! It's the tenth anniversary of when these campers first met here on the island and we'd like to see what they've been up to in the last few years. Rest assured there will be plenty of danger, daring and of course drama! This year on Total Drama Ten-Years-Later!"

-title sequence-

Chris McLean stands on the dock at CampWawanakwa, which is almost completely ruined, having not had any maintenance done on it for ten years.

"Let's get our contestants in! I'll be introducing them in the order they first arrived ten years ago, and I'll include in their introductions the things everyone's dying to hear, what defines how successful they've been since Total Drama – their career and their relationship status! And here's Beth!"

A boat glides up to the dock and Beth gets off, carrying a suitcase. She's barely recognisable from the first time she stood on the dock.

"Whoa Beth, what happened to you? Plastic surgery?" Chris sniggers.

"Yes actually," Beth replies, no trace of the lisp that once plagued her. Her side ponytail has been replaced with gently cascading light brown curls and her figure is much slimmer. Chris raises his eyebrows.

"Beth is currently between relationships as she is focusing on her career as a party planner for the rich and famous! Moving on. Here we have DJ! DJ is a pastry chef and is married with one lovely little child!"

DJ walks over to Beth.

"I don't remember you, sorry!" DJ says.

"It's me, Beth!" She smiles a dazzling smile.

"Whoa, no way!"

"Yes, yes, we know, Beth is hot now, let's get on with it!" Chris gestures to another approaching boat. "Next up is Gwen! Unfortunately Gwen is a single mother and a waitress, sucks to be her!"

"Just because I don't fit into society's ideas of what successful is, doesn't mean I'm not. I'm happy and that's all that matters. All I need in life is my little Eddie." Gwen glares at Chris and joins the others on the dock.

"Suuuure…"

"Wooo!" yells someone from a boat speeding towards to dock.

"Woo!" Chris calls back, a little less enthusiastically. Geoff jumps off the boat and goes over to hug Chris.

"Long time no see, man!" Geoff smiles, letting Chris go.

"Uh, Geoff, I saw you last week at that awards ceremony, remember?" Chris points out, literally pointing his finger in the air.

"Yeah, but that feels like such a long time ago! Congrats on the award by the way!" Geoff and Chris high five each other.

"Thanks, man! Geoff here is the host of popular reality TV show 'Super Scuba Scramble!' Geoff is single and ready to mingle!"

"Hell yeah I am!" Geoff high fives Gwen, DJ and Beth, and Chris turns his attention to the next contestant.

"Stepping off the boat now is the gorgeous Lllllindsayyyyy! Lindsay is a triple threat, dabbling in modelling, acting and singing, and being very successful in all three! Her new single 'My boots and my baby' can be downloaded from iTunes now! Lindsay is happily in a relationship!"

"Aw thanks, Chip! It's so great to be back on the set of Dancing with the Stars!"

"Uhhhh, it's Chris! And this is Total Drama!"

"Ohhh right! I just have soo many projects going on right now! Luckily my manager is super hot! Hey guys!" Lindsay walks over and joins the others. Chris shakes his head in disbelief.

"Just when you thought she couldn't get any dumber! Anyway, here's our next camper, Heather!" Heather struts off the boat, giving her hair a flick, she is as gorgeous and intimidating as ever.

"Oh hey, Heather!" Lindsay calls.

"Hey, Linds, Geoff, how rockin' was that party last night? I almost didn't make the boat!" Heather laughs and Lindsay joins in along with her. Geoff just nods approvingly. Beth rolls her eyes.

"Heather is happily married and her and her husband… well… I don't really know what they do? They're in the tabloids a lot that's for sure!"

"God, Chris, we're the It couple. Hollywood's best. We don't need jobs, people pay us just to be at their parties. Duh." Heather rolls her eyes and strides over to Lindsay with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Why are you two friends again? Lindsay, I thought you hated Heather! And Geoff?!" Beth whines, a trace of her old self coming out.

"We run in the same circles now. Unlike you." Heather crosses her arms.

"I was the one who planned that party last night!"

"Ugh, whatever!"

"Heather's MARRIED?" DJ bursts out.

"Ugh obviously!" she holds out her hand to show the massive diamond on her finger. "Alejandro and I are extremely happy."

"Who cares? Let's see the next contestant." Chris interrupts. "It's the criminal who blew up my cottage in season five, Duncan!"

"You're still holding a grudge about that? Come on!"

"Yes, yes I am, and I didn't really want you back on the show but Chef insisted it would boost ratings so I relented. But I'm giving you fair warning, you're on thin ice, buddy." Chris pokes Duncan in the chest. Duncan folds his arms and rolls his eyes. Chris goes back to addressing the camera. "Duncan is single, cause who would ever want to date him? And he's the C…"

"I'm unemployed!" Duncan cuts him off.

"Sure, whatever. That's why you can't afford to keep that green in your mohawk huh?"

"Something like that." Duncan shoves Chris a little with his shoulder as he joins the rest of the campers.

"Next is Tyler!" Lindsay squeals in delight and claps her hands together. Heather rolls her eyes. Tyler skis in behind the boat just as he did in season one. He manages to stack the landing once again, knocking Chris over. Chris grunts and stands up, glaring at Tyler. "Tyler is Lindsay's manager and boyfriend!"

Tyler cartwheels to Lindsay, kicking Heather in the face and planting a kiss on his girlfriend.

"Ow, watch it, you clumsy jerkface!" Heather reprimands.

"Sorry, Heather!" Tyler puts his arms around Lindsay and they glance at each other worriedly.

"So Heather's still a bitch, but is our next contestant still a huge nerd?" Chris announces as Harold steps onto the dock. Chris looks Harold up and down, taking in his clothes and glasses. "I think that answer to that is yes! Harold has recently snagged himself a girlfriend and a few of his many jobs include a ninja, a magician and a beatboxing rapper!"

"There's no way Harold's a ninja! The other things I'd believe because they're incredibly LAME, but last time I checked, Harold was shit scared of ninjas." Duncan mocks.

"The best way to overcome your fears, is to become them. After season three, I attended Ninja Steve's Ninja Camp and now I am a freelance ninja."

"That makes no sense."

"Yeah, right!"

"Is that even a real thing?"

"It makes perfect sense, Duncan. It is right, Heather. And yes it is a real thing, Gwen. I'd be happy to show you my skills."

"No time! Here's Trent!" The others breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that they don't have to witness Harold's "skills."

Trent jumps off the boat with a guitar clung across his back.

"Trent is a musician who has had mild success, I guess. You may have heard his song 'Where's the drama in that?' which reached number 47 on the charts last year. He's currently single." Trent points his fingers at Gwen then puts both his thumbs up. Gwen rolls her eyes.

"If one more person rolls their eyes on this show today, I may have to stick forks in them!" Chris shouts. "Now, let me introduce… Bridgette! Bridgette is still a babe, she's a professional surfer and yes fellas, she's single!"

"I'm not looking for a relationship, Chris."

"Doesn't mean they can't try, am I right boys!" Chris elbows Trent in the side, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Bridgette sighs and stands next to Gwen, giving her a smile.

"Hey Gwen, how's it going. I haven't seen you in years!"

"Enough with the chit chat! What's a guy got to do to introduce some contestants in peace and quiet?" Chris stamps his foot. Noah walks over to him.

"Wow Chris, you're looking old." Chris glares at Noah with a pout.

"Gee thanks, Noah. Want me to kick you off first?" Noah just shrugs. "That's what I thought. Noah is a professor at the University of Canada and he's engaged, although god knows why."

"To a dude!" Duncan coughs under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Noah strides over to Duncan.

"I said you're engaged to a dude." Duncan crosses his arms smugly.

"Wow, in three words you've shown me that not only are you as childish as the first time we met, you're also a homophobic asshole." Noah says, deadpan.

"I'm not homophobic. Just guessing you're engaged to a dude." Duncan shrugs. Noah smirks at Duncan, giving Duncan a feeling of unease.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough who I'm engaged to." He then walks away and stands by himself.

"Very mysterious. Arriving now is Leshawna! Leshawna is a beautician and she is taken, sorry boys!"

"That's right! Y'all better back off or my man is gonna come down here beat the livin' daylights outta ya! How's it going Harold, baby?"

"I really don't think you should call me baby, Leshawna, we aren't together anymore."

"You're still my baby, sugarpie! You know you and I will always have somethin'!" She gives him a tight hug and he nods his head sadly.

"Aw, what a touching reunion. Enough already! Here's Katie and Sadie!" Katie and Sadie step off the boat and everyone stares in surprise. The girls aren't dressed exactly alike. Katie is wearing a cute floral dress with her hair hanging down around her waist and Sadie is in a button down shirt and navy pants, her curly hair in a bob.

"Katie…" Chris starts, only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"It's Katherine now," says Katie, smiling.

"Fine. Katherine is a primary school teacher and is in a relationship, Sadie is married with three kids and is unemployed."

"Having three boisterous children between the ages of two and six is a full time job, Chris." Sadie says defensively.

"Yeah, uh huh. Go away."

"Don't worry, Sadie, Chris doesn't appreciate motherhood or think that being a mother is worthy of respect." Gwen says icily, shooting daggers at Chris.

"So how come you guys don't dress the same anymore?" Bridgette asks.

"Oh, we kind of grew out of it. We have actually grown apart quite a bit. I haven't seen Sadie in about three years." Says Katherine, Sadie nods in agreement.

"And now, this time ten years ago, little Ezekiel was stepping onto the dock. Sadly Zeke passed away and is no longer with us. Shall we have a minutes silence to remember him?" Chris glances at the contestants. Some are shaking their heads, some shrug.

"Who's Ezekiel?" asks Lindsay.

"Okay, clearly not! Let's have our next contestant, Cody! Cody is an accountant and is married with one child and one on the way!"

"Oh my god, Cody, who are you married to?" asks Gwen.

"Sierra, of course," Cody says happily.

"Sierra? Really? But I thought you thought she was crazy?"

"She is crazy! Crazy about me! And I'm crazy about her too!" Cody says dreamily. Heather sticks her finger down her throat and makes gagging noises.

"Ugh, gross! Can we get on with it please? I'm sick of standing here."

"Heather's right. Here's Eva! Eva is a personal trainer and she is single."

"Well duh." Says Heather. Eva stomps over to her.

"Shut your dumb face you dumb ugly bitch!" Eva's face fills with rage.

"Whatever!" Heather looks at her nails. Eva punches her in the face.

"Still haven't got that rage under control I see!" Chris chuckles. "Now we have my big buddy Owen!"

"Yeeeeeehaaaa!" Owen bellows, jumping into the lake, sending a huge wave of water splashing over everyone. He belches as he scrambles onto the dock.

"Sorry!" he says sheepishly to the varied looks of disgust and venom that greet him. There are a couple of people who look happy to see him though, that being Noah, Geoff and Trent. He grabs the three guys and Chris and pulls them into a huge embrace.

"Owen…" Chris chokes out.

"Yeah?!"

"I… have…to…introduce you!"

"Oh, sorry!" He let's go and stands next to Noah.

"Owen is a single man and works in an office doing who knows what, he doesn't even know himself!" Owen shrugs. Another boat pulls up.

"Our next arrival is Courtney!" Courtney steps gracefully onto the dock, hands on hips. She smiles at the gathering of people.

"Hi everyone, it's so nice to see you all again!" Faces of disbelief looked back at her and her calm façade faltered for a second until Chris started talking again.

"Courtney is a lawyer, who saw that coming?! She's also engaged."

"What? You're engaged?!"

"Yes. Duncan, is it?"

"You know perfectly well it is. Who's you're fiancé?" Duncan's outburst has receded to a casual curiosity.

"Noah." She holds out her hand and Noah walks over and takes it.

"NOAH!? You're kidding right?" Everyone else seems as surprised as Duncan is.

"Why do you care who I'm engaged to anyway?" she huffs.

"I don't. I just… I'm annoyed because now I owe Geoff fifty bucks."

"Huh? What for?" Courtney asks.

"Back in TotalDramaIsland we thought statistically there'd most likely be two gay people among us. I bet him it was Noah and Owen." Courtney glances at her fiancé then raises her eyebrows at Duncan, before turning her back on him and leading Noah back over to the rest of the group.

"Who'd Geoff say was gay?" asks Owen, tapping his index fingers together.

"Izzy and Justin."

"Shut up! Who cares who's gay? As long as I get the camera back on me! And speaking of Justin, here he is!" Chris finally interrupts. Justin is as gorgeous as ever, he's shirtless as he steps off the boat.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit. Hey ladies!" He blows a kiss at Lindsay and Tyler shakes his fist at him.

"Justin is a model, clearly, and he's single."

"But only because one woman is never enough! I can't be tied down like that."

"Yeah, yeah. And last but not least, it's Izzy!"

"Oh my god you guys, I'm so psyched to be back. Did you know that while the show wasn't being filmed here I lead an expedition to the middle of the island and we found a diamond mine? But then there was an earthquake and it caved in and like two people died or something but not me, but now I can't remember where it is."

"Uh huh. Now that you're all here, let's get you into teams! You'll be on the same teams as last time! The Screaming Gophers are: Heather, Lindsay, Gwen, Noah, Owen, Trent, Beth, Justin, Izzy, Leshawna, and Cody! Duncan, Katherine, Sadie, Courtney, Tyler, Eva, Harold, Geoff, Bridgette and DJ, you are the Killer Bass!"

"We should go back to the original teams," says Katherine.

"These are the original teams," Chris says patronisingly.

"No, I mean before Izzy and Sadie swapped."

"You don't want to be on Sadie's team?" Chris says disbelievingly. Katherine shrugs. "The teams will stay as they are. Get ready for your first challenge!"


	2. A Team of Dummies

**Chapter Two – A Team of Dummies**

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"So we're back on the island. I really thought I'd never see this place again. I pretty much lost touch with everyone so it's kinda strange to see them all. I've seen a few of them on TV but seeing them in person is pretty different. I feel like we've all changed but also we haven't? That doesn't make sense, sorry."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Why did I agree to come back and do this dumb show? I forgot how idiotic most of those people are. Even Geoff who I used to be friends with. And Courtney and Noah are engaged? That's just wrong. I mean, I don't care or anything but I seriously thought that dude was gay."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Lindsay's a SINGER? She can't even sing!"

* * *

Chris surveys the group of twenty-one returning contestants. This has got to be his most brilliant plan yet. Ratings will sky-rocket! He chuckles evilly to himself, thinking of all the drama that is yet to unfold.

"Uh, Chris, what are you laughing at?" asks Cody.

"Oh, you'll find out!" Chris grins. "One more thing before we get started on the first challenge. The Killer Bass have one less player since Ezekiel is dead."

"So can we kick someone off our team now?" Heather says. Chris frowns at her.

"Stop ruining the dramatic tension! No, you can't kick someone off your team! The Killer Bass will be gaining a member from our fourth season, Revenge of the Island! Bass, please welcome to your team… Dawn!" A boat pulls up and Dawn practically floats down onto the dock.

"Aw, she's adorable!" says Owen, "can't we have her on our team?"

"No. Dawn please join your team," Chris gestures to the Killer Bass and Dawn gives a little wave to her new team as she approaches them.

"Hi, Dawn, it's so lovely to have you on our team!" Courtney puts her arm around Dawn's shoulders. Dawn just smiles.

"So what's Dawn's relationship status… and job?" asks Duncan.

"Sorry Duncan, she's taken! And she is a volunteer for Greenpeace as well as owning a successful garden and hedge maze which visitors are welcome at. It's also great for weddings."

"Lindsay and Tyler, you are welcome to have your wedding there free of charge!" Dawn says sweetly.

"Oh, silly, we're not engaged! But thanks!" Lindsay giggles. Tyler's eyes dart to Lindsay as he grimaces, looking kind of worried.

"Yeah we're not engaged! Ha. You must be thinking of someone else. Courtney and Noah, maybe?" Tyler stresses the last part, trying to get the attention off himself. Lindsay doesn't notice anything strange.

"Oh I don't think they'll be needing it. My mistake though, sorry, Tyler." Dawn turns her attention back to Chris as Courtney frowns at her, but Chris starts speaking again before she can say anything.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"What does Dawn mean Noah and I won't be needing her garden? I would love to have a garden wedding. If she's implying what I think she's implying then she better watch out. But for now I consider her an ally. God knows I'm probably going to need one.

* * *

"Now for the first challenge! This challenge is a team building challenge!"

"Really? Isn't that kind of lame for a first challenge?" says Noah doubtfully.

"Nope! Because you will be literally building your team!" Chris announces. The cast looks around at each other confused. "Each team member will get a member of their team that they have to build a life size model of out of the materials provided. You will not be able to see the real person while you are building. The team who has the best likeness to their actual team wins invincibility and the losing team will have to vote off one of their own. Now let's get started! Everyone come up and pick a team member out of the box!" One by one each contestant approaches Chris and takes a name from one of the two boxes he is holding, one marked "Bass" and the other marked "Gophers."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I got Lindsay. At least I won't have to build a brain."

"There's five piles of materials you can take stuff from. Pile one: baking materials. Pile two: wood. Pile three: scrap metals. Pile four: plastics, and pile five: arts and crafts. If I catch you going anywhere near the person you're building you will be disqualified! And Go!"

CONFESSIONAL: DJ

"I got myself. How am I supposed to not go near myself?"

* * *

The twenty-two campers scurry off to the five piles and begin collecting their materials. Ducncan, Tyler, Geoff, Justin and Leshawna head for the wood pile. Arts and crafts gets the biggest crowd with Beth, Cody, Lindsay, Katherine and Harold. Courtney, Sadie, Bridgette, Heather and Trent go for plastic, Gwen, Noah, Izzy and Eva choose metals and only Dawn, DJ and Owen choose the baking materials.

Once they've grabbed their materials they split up, careful not to go near the people they are building. Courtney makes sure to set up next to Dawn.

"Hey Dawn, who are you making?" Courtney beams, gesturing to the mixing bowl Dawn is pouring things into.

"Harold. I don't know him very well but he's pretty distinctive. Who are you building?"

"Tyler. This should be fun! I'm so glad we get to have you on our team! I never liked Ezekiel." Courtney starts building a fire in order to melt her plastic a little, to make it easier to mould.

"He was a troubled soul. And we shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

Courtney shrugs. "I guess. What did you mean before when you said Noah and I wouldn't be needing your garden for our wedding?"

"Oh, you know,"

"Actually I don't." Dawn looks up at Courtney with big wide innocent eyes.

"I didn't mean anything really. I just thought you two would be much happier getting married somewhere fancier." Courtney narrows her eyes as she starts moulding Tyler's feet.

* * *

Duncan sits on a tree stump carefully carving Courtney's head out of wood.

"This is so lame. I never thought I'd be carving Courtney's head again." He says to Geoff who is building Bridgette out of plastic and DJ who is building himself out of baking materials.

"I know man. Making a scale model of an ex-girlfriend is kinda creepy." Geoff shudders.

"What do you mean 'again'. You've carved her head before?" DJ interjects. Duncan scowls.

"Well, yeah. When we were dating. I used to just do skulls but then I branched out into faces. At least this challenge will be easy though."

Tyler walks over to the group of boys with his arms full of wood. "Hey Duncan, do you think you could help me out with carving Eva?" Duncan glares at him.

"Why did you pick wood if you don't know how to carve?"

"I thought you could help me." Tyler grins. Duncan sighs.

"Fine. Maybe when I'm finished I can help. But you should get started first." Duncan concedes. Tyler nods and walks away to start his structure.

* * *

"Sorry Linds, I'm building you, I can't be near you." Heather says as she strides off into the forest with some bits of plastic. Lindsay decides to go and work with Beth instead.

"Hey, Beth. You sure look different. Someone's going to have a hard time building you. Who are you building?"

CONFESSIONAL: Beth

"Lindsay hasn't talked to me in six years. I've been planning parties that she and her friends attend for the last three years. And now she wants to be friends again? I don't think so."

* * *

"I'm building Trent. Who are you building?" Beth says curtly.

"Leshawna. Do you think you could help me out? Leshawna's the crazy one with red hair, right?"

"No, that's Izzy."

"Oh… then who's Leshawna?" Lindsay cocks her head to the side.

"The big loud one."

"Ohhh…" Lindsay nods her head but Beth is sure she still doesn't remember who Leshawna is.

CONFESSIONAL: Beth

"On the other hand, despite that I've completely changed my look, I'm one of the only people Lindsay seems to remember. Plus I think she kinda needs my help. Maybe I could forgive her and we could form an alliance. Without Heather!"

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"I have no idea what Beth looks like now! People keep telling me she's had plastic surgery and lost a lot of weight, and that she's really hot. Maybe she looks more like me now. If only there was some way I could sneak a quick peek at her before I start building."

* * *

"Owen are you sure it's the best idea to make Izzy out of food?" asks Trent as he plops his scrap metal down next to the big guy.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" Owen licks his fingers as he stirs his cake mixture.

"From what I remember about you, you have a pretty hard time controlling yourself when it comes to food." Owen just shrugs.

"Who are you building anyway?" Owen asks.

"Gwen…" says Trent dejectedly.

"I think Chris set us up. Making us build our ex-girlfriends."

"Yeah you're probably right, Duncan and Geoff are both building their exes as well. It's weird, Gwen and I haven't been together in almost ten years, but when I saw her today I still kinda felt this pang like it wasn't that long ago, know what I mean?"

"Mmmhmmm…" Trent looks up at Owen and his face is covered with cake mixture. Trent just raises his eyebrows.

"I guess I better go get some arts and crafts or something…" Owen giggles sheepishly.

* * *

"Why did I get Sadie? Like it's not like I don't know what she looks like, we were best friends for most of our lives. But I don't even like her anymore, and now I have to build her?" Katherine prattles on to Bridgette, not really paying attention to her statue of Sadie that she is meant to be building. Bridgette grits her teeth.

"Katie, or Katherine, or whatever. You may be building your ex best friend, and yes that sucks. But I am building my ex boyfriend. We broke up less than a year ago. It's pretty hard for me too." Bridgette says, trying really hard not to snap at Katherine but the girl is extremely annoying. Bridgette begins to wish she had set up near Dawn and Courtney, although Katherine would probably have followed.

"Oh I'm sorry, Bridge! I totally forgot about you and Geoff. What a nasty break-up! It was all over the tabloids. You can do so much better though!" Katherine then begins to tell Bridgette all about her own love life. Bridgette sighs and tunes out as she continues to build Geoff.

* * *

"So then I was all like, don't even try to eat my boyfriend you dumb shark! But he just didn't listen so I just got out of the aquarium with Don and it was totally crazy cause all the people watching wanted my autograph…" Izzy rambles on with one of her stories as she builds Cody out of scrap metals.

"Girl, are you sure that happened? I don't think you're allowed in aquarium without supervision." Leshawna butts in disbelievingly.

"Oh you're probably not," Izzy laughs. Leshawna rolls her eyes at the same time as Gwen who is also with them. Leshawna and Gwen smile at each other as they continue building their statues. Leshawna is building Owen and Gwen is building Heather.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"I forgot how much I liked Leshawna. She's easy to get along with as long as you're not a total bitch to her. Speaking of total bitches, my statue of Heather is pretty life like I think. She's easy to remember cause her ugly mug is on my TV all the time."

* * *

"I don't know why you're using plastic, Sadie, if you were using arts and crafts I could help you out. I went to Creative Steve's Arty Camp a few years ago and now I can make anything out of only paper and glue, even a scale model of Duncan."

"That's great, Harold." Sadie says absentmindedly, glancing over at Katherine. She sighs. She doesn't really want to be talking to Harold but she doesn't want to work by herself and none of the rest of the team seem to want to include her in their conversations. "Has Katie said anything about me?" she asks Harold. Harold shakes his head.

"I haven't really spoken to her, sorry!" he turns his attention back to his work of art.

CONFESSIONAL: Sadie

She sighs. "I really miss Katie. I feel like she's been talking to the other girls about me behind my back because they're all ignoring me! The truth is I did something really horrible to Katie a few years ago and she's never forgiven me. I've said I'm sorry a million times but now I don't know what else to do!" She bursts into tears. "And this statue building challenge is horrible! I have Dawn, who I've seen for about two seconds and now I'm supposed to build her off by heart? This is so unfair!"

CONFESSIONAL: Eva

"Let's build this bitch. I'm using scrap metals to build Katie because that's what she's worth to me! I hate everyone on this team, but I can't let them know because I'm going to win this time!"

* * *

Justin walks over to Cody who is building his statue alone.

"Hey buddy! Can you see Beth from here?" Justin asks casually.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"I need you to describe her for me so I can build her."

"Justin, I'm kinda busy. Plus I think that's cheating."

"It's not cheating if I don't look at her!"

"Sorry, Justin." Cody shakes his head and continues building Noah from pipecleaners. Justin huffs and walks over to a tree behind Cody, hoisting himself up and peering through the branches so he can catch glimpses of Beth. He chuckles to himself, thinking how clever he is.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"I'm building Justin. I chose metal but now I'm starting to think I should have used wood. Whatever, this whole challenge is kind of lame."

* * *

"Hey Tyler, do you want my help now?" Duncan calls. Tyler stands back and proudly displays his statue of Eva. It's ugly but dead on.

"No thanks, I got it!"

* * *

Chris gathers the campers into their teams and groups the statues next to them.

"Time to pick a winner! First I have two disqualifications to make." The two teams call out various comments of annoyance and outrage. "Justin and Tyler, you were both looking at your person! Your statues don't count!"

"You said we weren't allowed to go near them, not that we weren't allowed to look!" Tyler complains. His team is giving him dirty looks.

"God, Justin, can't you do anything right?!" Heather hisses.

"Now, moving on to the judging. Gophers. Izzy, that looks nothing like Cody, but the rest look pretty good! Particularly this model of Justin! Good work, Noah!" His team look at him in surprise, remembering his lack of effort in their first season.

"What? It's not like I actually tried."

"Bass. Who is this supposed to be? I don't recognise them."

"It's Dawn. I couldn't remember what she looked like!" wails Sadie. Chris shakes his head in disappointment.

"Nice going, Sadie." Courtney sneers.

"Well since the model of Dawn looks like a tree, Tyler is disqualified, and you're actually missing two cast models, the Gophers win!"

"What!? What do you mean we're missing two? Who didn't build theirs?" Courtney accuses.

"There's no Harold and no DJ here."

"But I saw Dawn make Harold out of a cake! It was brilliant!" Courtney objects.

"And DJ made himself out of cookie dough, Geoff and I watched him! This is rigged." Ducan complains. Geoff and DJ nod in agreement. Suddenly a loud burp comes from Owen's way. He taps his index fingers together guiltily.

"Sorry guys! I just couldn't help myself!"

"What!? You sabotaged our team? This isn't fair! I demand a rematch!" Courtney thunders.

"No rematches. Bass, I'll see you at the Campfire Ceremony, be ready to vote someone off!"

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Ugh. I can't believe the Bass lost the first challenge again! And now we have to vote someone off. Since we can't vote off Owen, I think I'll try and convince the girls to vote for Tyler. As much as I find Sadie irritating and she did stuff up today, I think the girls need to stick together, and Tyler cheating just isn't going to cut it!"

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"I honestly didn't mean to cheat. I kind of just looked up and Eva was there, I wasn't anywhere near her!"

* * *

Duncan gathers the guys in their dorm.

"Look guys, I have a feelings right at this moment, Courtney is gathering the girls together and making a plan to vote off one of us. Tyler, since you kind of cost us the challenge today, I'm betting it's you. We need to vote together and get rid of Courtney."

"Why Courtney? She's one of our strongest players. Let's vote for Dawn, she's new." Geoff counters.

"Ugh fine we can vote for Dawn. Courtney's clearly trying to make an alliance with her anyway." Duncan relents. The other boys agree.

"Excuse me." A girl's voice interrupts their discussion.

"What do you want?" demands Duncan.

"I have a proposition for you."

* * *

"Killer Bass, lovely to see you here at the Campfire ceremony. I have here ten marshmellows. Whoever does not receive a marshmallow will head down to the dock of shame and catch the boat of losers with a one way ticket out of here. And you can't come back. Ever." Chris says dramatically.

"Yeah right, Chris! You've been saying that for years but look here we are, back on TotalDramaIsland! Let's get on with it," says Courtney. Chris pouts but begins handing out the marshmellows.

"Duncan. Courtney. Eva. Harold. Geoff. Bridgette. DJ. Katherine. Dawn. That leaves one marshmallow. Tyler, you cheated on the challenge. Sadie, you couldn't remember what your own teammate looked like so you made a tree. And the last marshmallow goes to…" Chris pauses for dramatic effect. "Tyler!"

Sadie looks dejected. She glances at Katherine who is wearing a smug smile on her face.

"Katie, I'm so sorry! I only wanted to come back so I could see you again. I want to be friends again! I want you to meet my kids! I'm so sorry I stole your Justin Bieber t-shirt, it's not like it fitted me anyway!"

"Wait, Katherine, you hate Sadie because she stole your t-shirt? Don't you think that's kind of… petty?" Bridgette asks.

"IT WAS A JUSTIN BIEBER T-SHIRT!"


	3. Sink or Swim

**Note - Sorry for the long chapter! They will most likely get shorter as people start to go home. Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Three – Sink or Swim**

CONFESSIONAL: Katie

"Yeah I got the guys to vote Sadie off. We used to be best friends but I can never forgive her for what she did to me. Now she's going to have to sit back and watch me win the million, along with my NEW best friend, Bridgette."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I can't believe Katie… or Katherine… or whatever, went behind my back! That is so not team spirit. She was meant to go over to the boys and get one of them to vote for Tyler! Now we're one girl down and we no longer have the advantage over the guys! She is gonna get it!"

* * *

The remaining 21 campers are gathered on the dock once again, dressed in their swimwear as requested by Chris. They stare at him expectantly as he smiles silently, trying to put them on edge.

"Ugh, can we get on with it? It's hot out here and I think Beth's face is starting to melt!" Heather demands.

"Hey!" Beth whines. "Like you've never had any work done!"

"I haven't actually. My face is naturally perfect."

"Okay campers! Time for today's challenge! I hope you guys can swim! The challenge today is kind of a relay. Each contestant will have to swim 200 metres to a buoy out in the lake, and then back again, where your time will be recorded and added to your team's total time. Whichever team has the lowest time at the end, wins!"

"Wow a swimming challenge, how original!" Noah says sarcastically.

"Well, Noah, if you'd let me finish, I would have told you about the twist!"

"What's the twist?" asks Trent.

"I'm glad you asked! Each of you will have the opportunity to save one of your teammates who will be tied to a pole between here and the buoy. Of course if you choose to save them, it will take you extra time, but if you choose not to save them, they will be automatically eliminated!"

"What?! So if someone hates us enough, they can just choose to leave us there, and WE get eliminated?" protests Gwen.

"Yup!" Chris says happily.

"But there's no elimination ceremony tonight though, right?" says Tyler.

"I didn't say that. Right Katherine and Trent, you're up first! Harold and Leshawna get in the boat so Chef can tie you up to the posts."

* * *

The Killer Bass stand in a huddle, except for Harold who is being taken out to the post.

"Guys, I think we need to stick together. No man gets left behind. We're already one team member shorter than the Gophers." Courtney whispers.

"Yeah, but we need to win this challenge! We need to be more cutthroat than the other team!" Duncan objects.

"Fine, do you want to be the one to volunteer to go home?!" Courtney is still whispering but you can hear the strain in her voice as her temper raises. Duncan shakes his head and rolls his eyes, hating that Courtney is right. The rest of the team agree to save everyone.

* * *

"So far the Gophers are in the lead, but only just, and no one has been left behind yet! Next up is Tyler and Justin!"

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"I don't think anyone would blame me if I left Courtney out there, but I just couldn't do it. She's the one who made the speech about sticking together, and I don't want to be the first one to eliminate someone."

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"I'm still annoyed at Cody for not helping me in the last challenge, so here's my chance to get him back! See ya Cody!"

* * *

"Ooh Justin has ditched Cody! Cody is out of the competition. That's harsh man!" Chris commentates. Justin reaches the dock long before Tyler is back with Courtney.

"Justin, how could you just leave Cody? That's so mean!" Beth reprimands.

"Look Beth, do you want to win this challenge or not?" Justin replies. He has no regrets about leaving Cody for the sharks.

"Yes, but it is wrong to leave a team member behind!" Beth folds her arms in protest.

"Someone back me up here!" Justin calls to the rest of the team. Most of them don't meet his eyes, they all agree with Beth. Getting Cody eliminated like that was low.

"Justin's right. To win, we needed to let someone go. I would have done the same. It's for the good of the team." Heather is the only one who takes Justin's side.

"Thanks Heather," Justin says.

"Ugh, shut up Justin." Heather goes back to talking to Lindsay. Beth doesn't want to let it go though.

"You two are so wrong! We should be doing what the Bass are doing. Sticking together! We're a stronger team when we have all our players! We were winning anyway!"

"Oh my god Beth, would you shut your fake mouth? Now we'll win and we won't have to eliminate anyone! Tyler isn't even back yet!" Heather snaps.

"Heather, do you ever think about any but yourself?! You think you're all that but the truth is everybody hates you!" Beth says in frustration. Heather narrows her eyes and smiles nastily.

"You're just jealous because all the plastic surgery in the world couldn't make you attractive enough to get people to like you. You're going to die alone Beth, trust me." Everyone is silent as they look from Heather to Beth, wondering what comeback Beth will come up with. But Beth doesn't have a comeback and Heather knows she's won this round, and her remark has hit home. She gives her long black hair a flick and goes back to talking about something trivial to Lindsay.

* * *

Tyler finally arrives back at the dock with Courtney.

"Great, now we're way behind!" complains Courtney once she standing on the dock. Tyler hoists himself out of the water.

"Sorry," he says shaking his wet hair like a dog.

"Ugh, don't worry, we can still win! I refuse to lose two challenges in a row!"

"What are we going to do?" Tyler asks, worried that she's going to go back on her word and leave someone behind.

"I'll think of something. Chris! Who's next?" Courtney yells to Chris who is sitting up on the life savers chair.

"Well it was supposed to be you and Cody but he just got eliminated sooo… let's have Heather instead. Trent and Duncan get in the boat." Duncan's eyes go wide as he realises he is relying on Courtney to keep him in the competition. He wasn't sure he could totally trust that she wouldn't change her mind about saving everyone, especially since they were now a fair way behind the other team. He catches her eye but she immediately looks away.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Great, the chick who hates me now has the chance to easily get me out of the competition, and she'd even have a pretty valid excuse to leave me. We are losing the challenge. Everyone probably thinks she has every right to get rid of me. She still hates me for what happened with Gwen. I can't believe how many people took her side! I got a lot of hate after World Tour from the fans, so did Gwen. Yeah, what I did was wrong, but does no one remember that Courtney was a crazy bitch?!"

* * *

As Chef Hatchett ties Trent and Duncan to the two poles erected in the lake, Courtney and Heather stand on the dock, getting ready to dive in.

"Nice bikini, Courtney," says Heather.

"What do you want, Heather? Trying to throw me off by being nice?" Courtney snaps.

"No, I really just like your bikini, god! Next time I won't bother." Heather says icily.

"Oh, well thanks then, I guess." Courtney goes back to her own thoughts. She bites her lip absentmindedly, still trying to decide whether or not to save Duncan. She knows she should, especially given the speech she'd given at the start of the challenge. But there was a part of her that just wanted to get rid of him. She'd honestly thought she was over the whole Gwen thing and the way he'd treated her during season three, she'd forgiven Gwen long ago. But when she'd seen him on that dock the first day back she'd realised she was so not over it. He still made her so mad. The worst thing was he'd never even apologised. Plus they were losing the challenge and she'd be faster if she left him behind.

"You have to save him." Heather's voice cuts through her thoughts.

"What?" Courtney shakes her head, wondering how Heather knew what was going on in her head.

"You'll regret it if you don't," Heather says knowingly.

"You just want a bigger lead. Are you going to save Trent?"

"Of course I am, I'm not that heartless. We're already winning by a mile. Even if you leave him, we're still going to win. You'll always wonder what would have happened if you let him go." Courtney wonders when Heather got so philosophical. Of course she could be lying through her teeth and really does just want a bigger lead. Courtney shakes her head.

"I'm with Noah now, and we're very happy. I don't have any feelings for Duncan." Courtney says by way of reply. Heather just shrugs.

"On your marks, get set, go!" calls Chris. Both girls dive in, hitting the water at the same time. Courtney swims sure and straight, heading for Duncan, although she still hasn't completely made up her mind. She makes her decision in the split second before she reaches the pole. She dives under the water and begins untying his feet. Once they are free she swims around the back of the pole and starts on the ropes binding his hands.

"I thought you were going to leave me," he says.

"I said no team member gets left behind." Courtney replies.

"Yeah, but it's not like you've never gone back on your word before. You're kind of a hard person to trust." Duncan says as Courtney struggles with the ropes, trying to go faster, not just to win the challenge but because she doesn't want to talk to Duncan anymore.

"Duncan, if you look back I think you'll find I never gave you of all people any reason not to trust me. Maybe everyone else had a reason to think I might betray them but you never did. It was you who killed the trust between us. The only reason I'm saving you is because the team needs you, if I was going based on my own feelings I would leave you here to rot." Duncan is dumbstruck for a moment after Courtney finishes her spiel.

"The team needs me." He says dumbly as Courtney finally gets the ropes undone.

"Yes, now if we're done with the heart to heart can you shut up so I can take you back to shore and win this thing?" She glances over to see Heather start swimming away from her pole with Trent. She gives a grunt of frustration, grabs Duncan and begins to swim.

Courtney makes it back just before Heather but it isn't enough to put them in the lead. As soon as Duncan is on the dock he is forced to swim again and Eva goes out to the pole. Duncan's opponent is Izzy who has to save Gwen. The Bass close the gap slightly as Duncan is faster than Izzy and Eva is faster to save Geoff than Gwen is to save Beth.

"Okay the next two swimmers are Geoff and Beth! You guys have the choice of saving – or not saving – DJ and Heather!"

"Don't worry, bud! I got your back!" Geoff says to DJ as he boards the boat. DJ doesn't look worried in the slightest. Heather sidles up to Beth on her way to the boat.

"You better not leave me out there Pathetic Barbie, or you will regret it." She hisses. She doesn't give Beth time to reply but she glares at her the whole way from the dock to the pole.

CONFESSIONAL: Beth

"I know I made a big fuss before about sticking together, and I still stand by what I said. Justin leaving Cody behind was wrong. Cody is a nice person and he deserved to go further in this competition. But this is HEATHER. Everyone hates Heather, even if they won't admit it. Everyone would thank me for taking out the most horrible person here. And plus I wouldn't have to put up with her calling me names like Pathetic Barbie!"

* * *

Chris calls out for them to dive in and Geoff is ten metres ahead before Beth has even recovered from her pin drop. She sighs as she sees him speeding ahead but she isn't too worried. She hears her team cheering her on and begins to freestyle out into the lake.

"Wow, Geoff is a great swimmer!" admires Courtney to Bridgette, Dawn and Katherine. "He's miles ahead of Beth. If he keeps this up we'll no longer be behind!"

"He is sooo hot! Bridge, why did you ever let him get away?" Katherine says to her 'new best friend'. Bridgette shrugs.

"You can have him," is all she says. Dawn glances over at the other team.

"I wouldn't be so sure of our victory on this one." Dawn says in her pixie voice.

"Why not?" Courtney demands.

"Beth has a fiery vengeance in her heart. I don't think she will save Heather." The four girls look out across the lake. Geoff is just reaching DJ and begins to untie the knots at his ankles. He comes up for a breath and dives down again, clearly having trouble with the ropes. As he ducks his head under, Beth approaches the pole with Heather tied to it and… swims right on by!

"Ooh! Beth is sticking it to Heather by leaving her stranded in the lake and thereby eliminating her from Total Drama!" Chris commentates. Everyone on the dock can see Heather's outrage although they can't hear what she's yelling. It's probably some kind of swearing though. Chef steers the boat to Heather, untying her and pulling her onto the deck with Cody. Beth reaches the buoy as Geoff starts to untie DJ's hands. Once Geoff has DJ untied he starts to catch up to Beth, but it isn't enough and she beats him back to the dock.

No one on the Gophers quite knows what to say to Beth.

"Hypocrite!" coughs Justin.

"That was really mean Beth," says Lindsay, "you may not like Heather but you should have discussed it with us before you let her get eliminated." Everyone nods, though Lindsay is dumb, every now and again she comes out with something that everyone agrees with.

"Justin didn't!" whines Beth.

"Yeah, and you scolded him for it. We were on your side Beth!" says Owen. Beth is dumbfounded at the lack of support she has for her decision.

* * *

Courtney stamps her foot in frustration.

"Don't worry, Court, we can still win. We're still only a little way behind!" Bridgette consoles and Dawn nods in agreement.

"The most important thing is we stick together!" says Katherine and Courtney glares at her, thinking about what a hypocrite she is. Where was this team spirit when they were supposed to be voting off Tyler?

"Next up is Noah and DJ. Dawn and Lindsay, you're on the poles." Dawn and Lindsay head to the boat and Courtney blows Noah a kiss in support, though she hopes DJ beats him. Noah catches the kiss and blows one back. The boys all wonder at this strange phenomenon as it seems quite out of character for Noah.

DJ makes it back just before Noah, both of them having saved their person. Dawn looks adorable in DJ's arms and several of the girls comment how unfortunate it is that they are both in relationships. Dawn and Lindsay are next to swim and Bridgette and Owen take to the poles. It is an extremely close match and both teams cheer from the docks, watching avidly as the two girls swim neck and neck towards the poles. Dawn slows down as she reaches the pole and begins to untie Bridgette, but Lindsay just keeps on swimming.

"Uh, what is she doing?" asks Noah, concerned. Both teams stare in disbelief as Lindsay leaves Owen behind and increases the lead that the Gophers had by a fair way. By the time she makes it back Dawn has only just made it to the buoy.

"Lindsay, why did you leave Owen?!" Gwen stresses. The Gophers all crowd around Lindsay, waiting for an answer.

"What?" asks Lindsay.

"You were supposed to save him!" Noah says, clearly annoyed and how dumb Lindsay was being.

"Oh my god! I totally forgot! I was thinking so much about swimming!" Lindsay seems genuinely sorry that she had forgotten to save Owen, the rest of her team just groans.

When Dawn finally arrives back with Bridgette, Katherine and Noah go out to the poles to be tied up.

"This is the last round!" announces Chris, "It was meant to be Owen but he just got eliminated so someone will have to swim twice and take his place! Bridgette, you're up for the Bass!"

The Gophers get together and discuss who should swim again.

"Ooh, ooh! Let me do it!" says Izzy excitedly. "I was the captain of the swim team when I was in the navy! We had to swim across the Atlantic ocean, it took 3 weeks and all we had to eat were these weird dried fruits that tastes like the sea cause they'd been in our backpacks so long…"

"Izzy, you couldn't even swim faster than Duncan, how you gonna beat surfer girl?" Leshawna butts in before Izzy can continue. "I think it should be Trent." No one disagrees with her so Trent takes his place on the dock.

* * *

Courtney pulls Bridgette aside.

"You have to leave Katherine behind," she urges.

"What? But you said…"

"I know what I said! I know you're the best swimmer on this team but their lead is so big I don't think even you can catch up! Our only hope is if we let her get eliminated!"

"I don't know Courtney…" Bridgette doubts. She knows Courtney is right, but to be the only one on the team to let someone get eliminated is not what Bridgette would like to be known for.

"Please Bridgette. She is the least useful person on our team and I know she is annoying you even if you won't admit it. Getting rid of her will only help our team."

Bridgette is silent for a moment, mulling it over in her mind. Courtney stares at her the whole time, willing her to agree with her. Finally Bridgette concedes.

"Uh, hello? Gossip girls? We have a challenge to complete! Bridgette, hurry up!" Chris calls through a megaphone. Bridgette hurries to the edge of the dock and stands next to Trent, they smile at each other.

"Good luck!" says Trent.

"You too," Bridgette returns. She glances back at Courtney and Courtney gives her a nod, just as Chris calls for them to go. Trent is a strong swimmer but he is no match for Bridgette who spends half her time in the water. Bridgette reaches the pole first, and just as Courtney had hoped, she keeps swimming, but Trent, reaching the pole a few seconds later, stops to help Noah.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I told you she was going to get it. That's what you get for going behind my back!"

* * *

Courtney smiles smugly as Bridgette reaches the dock. Trent is halfway between the pole and the dock on his way back with Noah. He had untied him very quickly, and Bridgette's lead wasn't quite what Courtney had thought it would be, but hopefully it would be enough.

"I thought we agreed no one gets left behind!" says Geoff angrily to Bridgette.

"Yeah well, agreements don't always work out do they?" Bridgette snaps back. The rest of the Killer Bass are taken aback by this outburst. Geoff is silent.

CONFESSIONAL: Harold

"I wonder what happened between those two. They used to be so in love and now she barely talks to him. I sure hope that never happens to me and my girlfriend Lisa."

* * *

"Bridgette, that was a mean thing to do," says Harold in a disappointed way. DJ and Tyler nod in agreement.

"Oh, lay off Bridgette will you? It was my idea! You'll thank me once we've won the challenge." Courtney says flippantly.

"You? But it was your idea that everyone gets saved!" says Eva angrily.

"Katie was dispensable. She's the weakest person on this team. If we lost she was going to get eliminated anyway."

"We haven't won yet, though. Chris has to add up the times." Says Tyler.

"Courtney was only trying to help the team," says Dawn, coming to Courtney's defence.

"Duncan, you're awfully quiet, what do you think?" asks DJ. It seems the boys need Duncan's approval for every opinion they have. Duncan shrugs.

"Courtney's right." He says simply.

"She is?" chorus Geoff and Tyler.

"I am?" Courtney is surprised Duncan agrees with her.

"We don't need Katie. We were going to lose and we were going to eliminate her. No harm done." He shrugs again.

"All right you idiots, listen up!" yells Chris. The remainder of both teams gather before the life savers chair where Chris is sitting. "The team with the best time is… the Screaming Gophers!" The Gophers cheer, hugging each other, forgetting they are mad at each other for all the team members they lost.

"What?!" screeches Courtney, outraged. The boys from the Bass all groan.

"No harm done, huh?" says Eva, glaring at Courtney, Duncan and Bridgette respectively. Bridgette looks guilty, Duncan rolls his eyes and Courtney glares back.

"Before you start to celebrate, I have to tell you something." Says Chris. The Gophers stop cheering to listen to the announcement. "See, the thing is, I lied." Chris chuckles. "This challenge was a test! The real winner is the team who saved the most team members! The Killer Bass win the challenge! Please welcome back your teammates, they aren't really eliminated!"

Both teams are dumbfounded as they turn around to see Heather, Cody, Owen and Katherine getting off the boat and onto the dock. Heather is seething, and Katherine doesn't look too happy.

"Oh my god, Owen, I'm so sorry I forgot to save you!" Lindsay apologises.

"That's alright Lindsay! Chef had some great food on the boat, and I'm not really eliminated!" He gives her a hug that almost breaks her back.

"Oh, Katherine, I'm so glad you're not really eliminated!" says Courtney, quite unconvincingly. That's when their team realises that they've won the challenge and remember to celebrate.

CONFESSIONAL: Eva

"I've decided not to tell Katie that it was Courtney's idea to get her eliminated. I want her to team up with me against Bridgette. It's all Bridgette's fault I was eliminated in Total Drama Island and I am still angry. She'll be gone before she can say 'one million dollars.'"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"How dare Beth try to eliminate me? She is going down."

CONFESSIONAL: Beth

"Either Justin or Heather needs to go. Heather is out to get me so preferably her. I'm sure I can get the boys to vote for her, even if I can't get Lindsay and the other girls to."

* * *

The Screaming Gophers gather at the campfire that night ready to eliminate someone. Chris grins menacingly, holding a plate of marshmellows.

"Welcome, campers. I have here ten marshmellows, whilst there are eleven of you. Whoever does not receive a marshmallow must immediately go down to the dock of shame and catch the boat of losers. And you can't come back. Ever."

The Screaming Gophers all roll their eyes and Chris starts throwing the marshmellows.

"Lindsay! Owen! Trent! Gwen! Leshawna! Noah! Cody! Izzy!" He pauses. Beth, Heather and Justin are all without marshmellows. Heather glares at Beth and Beth shudders.

"Heather." Chris throws her a marshmallow. Heather looks quite smug. "Justin, you left Cody behind, apparently for the good of the team, but was it just a personal vendetta? Beth, you left Heather behind, for much the same reason as Justin. Who does your team blame more? The final marshmallow goes to… Justin. Beth you must head down to the dock of shame immediately."

"What? But I'm nice! This isn't fair." Beth complains.

"You aren't nice, you're just irritating! Now get lost, Pathetic Barbie!" says Heather. No one comes to Beth's defence. Beth drops her head and heads to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers. The rest of the team don't bother to see her off, instead heading straight for the cabins.

* * *

"Wow, what an interesting turn events! Will anyone ever realise what a bitch Heather is? Will Eva be able to turn her team against Bridgette? And will I ever stop lying to the contestants? Find out next time, on Total Drama Ten-Years-Later!"


	4. Waving the White Flag

**Chapter Four – Waving the White Flag**

Courtney holds out her left hand to Bridgette, Dawn, Katherine and Eva, showing off the ring on her finger.

"Wow, that's enormous!" exclaims Katherine.

"You're so lucky, Courtney," says Bridgette, wistfully. "You haven't told us how you and Noah got together!"

"Don't you think she'd tell us if she wanted to? God, Bridgette, give the girl some privacy!" Katherine snaps. Courtney, Bridgette and Dawn are quite taken aback by this outburst.

"Um, Katie, it's really fine." Says Courtney,

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Katherine has been kind of cold to me since I left her out on the pole. Then there was this outburst. Eva said she told her it was Courtney's idea to leave her out there, but she's still taking it out on me! Why is this happening to me?!"

* * *

"It was kind of strange, it was about a year and a half ago and I was visiting the university he works at because I had a client there and they couldn't make it to the office. Anyway, I randomly bumped into him and I asked him out for a drink, you know for old times sake. I know Noah and I were never really friends but I hadn't seen anyone from Total Drama for ages. Then we just got to talking and we found out we have a lot in common and things just went from there! He's a really great guy."

"What could you two possibly have in common?" asks Eva, folding her arms. Courtney gives her a dirty look.

"We're both very smart and attractive people." Courtney stalks out of the cabin then and heads towards the communal washrooms.

* * *

"Welcome campers to today's challenge! I hope you're all excited!" Chris is his usual cheerful self as he greets the contestants for their day three challenge. The teams are in the dining hall, eating breakfast, though no one is quite sure what it is.

"The challenge today is… capture the flag! Each team will have a flag to guard, which the other team has to steal. Whichever team gets the flag back to their own base first, wins! The rules are; to stop someone from stealing the flag you have to tag them. Once you have been tagged you must sit at the other team's base and you are no longer allowed to participate in the challenge. And the last rule is, you can only spend thirty seconds at a time standing with the flag, after thirty seconds you must spend another thirty seconds at least ten metres away from the flag. Once that thirty seconds is up you can go back to the flag for another thirty seconds, and so on and so forth. Everyone got it?"

The members of both teams nod their heads.

"Your flag will be situated at the front of your base. Everyone head down to your team's base in ten minutes."

* * *

"Right, we need a strategy. Two people should guard the flag. The rest of us should go and find hiding spots and wait for the right moment to sneak out and grab the flag," Heather instructs the Screaming Gophers.

"Wouldn't it be better if we took shifts both in guarding and in trying to get the flag? That way no one will get tired." Cody suggests.

"Cody's right. I ain't gonna sit in some hiding spot for three hours while you get all the glory of getting the flag. We'd have no way of communicating to each other, how would we know when the right moment to get the flag was?" Leshawna agrees with Cody.

"Leshawna, I had my idea first, so that's what we're doing! You can guard the flag if you don't want to hide. Owen you stay with her, you're too big and slow to get the flag. The rest of you go find a hiding place." Leshawna starts to protest but Gwen cuts her off.

"Just let it go Leshawna, it'll be easier if we just do what she wants."

CONFESSIONAL: Leshawna

"I hate Heather just as much as I ever did. She doesn't have a nice bone in her body. That girl needs a good slap. And what's up with Gwen just letting Heather get away with it? Gwen used to hate Heather too, now it's like she doesn't even care!"

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"I don't know why everyone is bothering to argue with Heather. She won't stop till she gets her way. It's like none of these people have grown up. They're still acting like teenagers, like this whole game really matters. The only reason I'm here is to win the money for Eddie and I and if agreeing with Heather is what I have to do get there, then that's what I'm prepared to do."

* * *

"Who wants to guard first?" Courtney addresses the Killer Bass, "We should have a rotation schedule. One person guarding on the ground, two people up in those trees keeping a lookout. The signal can be to hoot like an owl if you see someone coming."

"Why don't we just shout, 'hey, there's someone coming!'" says Tyler.

"Because then they would know that we know that they are coming! We need to be stealthy."

"Who made you team leader anyway?" asks Duncan.

"I elected myself as team leader, and you're the only one objecting. I have very good leadership skills."

"Well maybe we should have a vote." Duncan suggests.

"We don't have time for that! I'm the only one with a plan so I vote we do it this way. We can vote on a team leader after I've won us the challenge!"

"Fine. What's the rest of the plan?"

* * *

The Screaming Gophers have taken up hiding places around the forest and the Killer Bass are enacting Courtney's plan. Courtney is on guard duty first. Tyler and Katie are in the trees. Geoff, DJ, Bridgette and Dawn are on scout duty and Eva, Harold and Duncan are in the base, waiting for their turn to do something.

"Don't get caught!" says Courtney to the scouts as they head toward the other team's base.

It isn't long till Bridgette and Dawn arrive back to the Bass' base to report their findings.

"Leshawna and Owen are guarding the base. We didn't see anyone else, they must be in the forest somewhere." Bridgette reports.

"Geoff and DJ are searching for them now, hopefully they can tag a few people before they try to get the flag." Dawn says.

"Great work girls! You should do the same. We'll swap in ten minutes." Courtney waves them away and Bridgette and Dawn head back out into the great unknown.

* * *

Heather watches Courtney from behind a tree about fifty metres away from the flag. At the moment Courtney is doing her thirty seconds away from the flag, but she is circling it at, knowing Courtney, probably exactly ten metres away. When Courtney's back is turned, Heather races to a bush which is a probably twenty metres from the flag. She skids to a stop behind the bush, her leg sliding under and kicking something.

"Ouch!" cries the something, poking their head out.

"Gwen?" exclaims Heather. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm hiding until the right time!"

"This is my hiding spot!"

"I was here first," Gwen crawls out from under the bush and sits next to Heather.

"Ugh. Well since we're both here we may as well work together. You go and distract Courtney and I'll grab the flag." Heather orders.

"I don't think so. How about you distract Courtney, and I'll grab the flag."

"Uh, yeah, like that's going to happen! What is that noise?" Heather looks around in annoyance.

"Some kind of bird, who cares? Let's just decide how we're going to get the flag!"

"That won't be necessary," says Courtney, reaching down and tagging them both on the shoulders. "You're both coming with me." She smiles smugly and leads them to the base. Heather and Gwen glower at each other and at Courtney. Courtney gives a thumbs up to Tyler who had given her the signal that someone was there.

The scouts come back and they all swapped jobs, Bridgette guarding, Duncan and Geoff in the trees, Eva, Harold, Tyler and Katherine scouting and Courtney, Dawn and DJ in the base with Heather and Gwen.

* * *

"Ooh, I am so mad at Heather! She thinks she can just boss me around. Well I'll tell you somethin', if we lose this challenge, she is outta here!" Leshawna rages to Owen. They stand on opposite sides of the flag, at a ten metre distance. Owen's stomach rumbles hungrily.

"You hungry, sugarpie?" says Leshawna, her rage receding a little. Owen nods.

"Mmm, sugarpie…" Owen says dreamily, thinking of a pie covered in sugar.

"You can go and take a break if you want, I'll keep guard." Owen doesn't hesitate as he races off to find some food. Leshawna walks back to the flag and sits down in front of it. Cody runs up to her.

"Heather and Gwen just got tagged! We're two men down!" Cody pants.

"Ha! If I didn't want to win this challenge I would be so happy right now. Cody, you stand guard, I wanna try and get the flag!"

* * *

Dawn and DJ sit in one corner of the base and Courtney sits between Heather and Gwen on the other side of the base.

"Courtney, you don't have to guard us, we aren't allowed to leave." Says Gwen.

"I'm not taking any chances. I wouldn't put it past Heather to try and escape at get the flag."

"I can't believe you don't trust me!" Heather scowls. Gwen and Courtney just look at her with raised eyebrows. "Ugh fine." She crosses her arms.

"Remember when we were a team?" Gwen reminisces.

"Yeah, till you stole Courtney's boyfriend!" Heather points out. Gwen bites her lip guiltily.

"Heather, we're past that. Gwen and I made our peace long ago. Duncan was the one who did the wrong thing, and anyway I'm over it. I'm engaged and happy with someone who actually has an education and a job." Courtney smiles at Gwen.

"If you say so. I never got my million for winning that season." Heather is still annoyed about that.

"Our team was almost unstoppable," says Gwen.

"I should never have gone home! Stupid Blaineley! Stupid Chris! Ugh." The three girls laugh.

"Maybe we should be a team again," suggests Heather.

"That's impossible. For one thing we're on separate teams, for another thing, we could never trust you." Gwen says.

"Just hear me out. If all three of us make it to the merge, we form an alliance and go to the final three. Meanwhile, we look out for each other. Do whatever we need to do to keep each other in the competition." Gwen and Courtney look at each other. Courtney shrugs.

"I guess it can't hurt."

"Agreed. But first sign of treachery and you're out of here Heather," agrees Gwen.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Heather smiles and the three girls shake hands to seal the deal.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I am such a genius. I already have Lindsay on my side, and now an alliance with Gwen, whom everyone on my team likes, and Courtney, the strongest player on her team. I can almost taste the million!"

* * *

Leshawna walks along the path in the direction of the Bass' flag, trying to be stealthy but not really succeeding. So far she hasn't come across anyone from her own team or from the other team. Suddenly two people come bursting out of the forest, one hot on the heels of the other, trying to tag her.

"I'm gonna getcha! I'm gonna getcha!" Izzy cackles as she chases Katherine around Leshawna in a circle. Leshawna puts her foot out to trip Katherine and Izzy pounces on her once she has fallen to the ground. Katherine groans.

"Okay, okay, you got me!" she whines, standing up and brushing the dirt off her dress.

"Hey Leshawna, who's guarding the flag?' asks Izzy, holding on to Katherine's arm.

"Cody," Leshawna replies.

"Ohh, that's weird, 'cause here he comes now!" Leshawna looks to where Izzy is pointing and sees Eva carrying Cody above her head. She doesn't appear to have the flag though and there's no one else with her.

"Noooooo!" screams Leshawna and she and Izzy begin to race back to their flag with Katherine in tow.

"Update! Both flags are still safe! Heather, Gwen and Cody have all been captured from the Gophers and Katherine has been captured from the Bass. The race is on now to reach the Gopher's flag first as it is currently unguarded! Whoops!" Chris' voice rings out through the loud speakers.

* * *

"Eva, you idiot! How could you get the person guarding the flag but not the flag itself? Argh!" Courtney rages.

"How dare you insult me, I'm out there working for the team and you're in here having a gossip session!" Eva shouts back.

"We are on a ROTATION SCHEDULE! And for your information, I caught these two, so I think I have done more work than you!"

"And Tyler has the flag! Can he make it back to base before he gets tagged?" Chris' voice interrupts. Eva and Courtney stop arguing and stare at each other in disbelief.

"_Tyler _has the flag?" says Courtney incredulously. She and Eva race out of the base, followed by Dawn and DJ to see Tyler stampeding towards them, followed by Leshawna, Izzy and Trent.

"Where are the rest of our team?" shouts Leshawna angrily. Neither Trent nor Izzy have an answer for her. Leshawna dives for Tyler and misses, skidding along the ground. She curses but doesn't bother to rejoin the chase. Izzy and Trent are hot on Tyler's heels as he approaches his team who are cheering him on. He is about forty metres away when tragedy strikes for the Bass. Tyler trips over his own feet and lands flat on his face. Izzy jumps on top of him and Trent stops beside them, and bends down to get the flag from Tyler's hands.

"He doesn't have the flag!" Trent exclaims, looking around for it. He spots it lying in the dirt between himself and the Killer Bass' base. Courtney sees it at the same time. It's slightly closer to Trent but she thinks she's faster. They look up at each other for a split second before bolting towards it. It's neck and neck as they race to the flag.

"She's not going to make it!" Dawn squeezes her eyes shut and DJ hugs her to his chest so she won't see the carnage about to unfold. Courtney and Trent reach the flag at almost the exact same time, but Trent manages to grab it first. His victory is short lived though as someone swings from the trees, knocking the flag from his hands and straight into Courtney's. Duncan, who had been watching the whole thing from his vantage point in the trees and had swung down on a vine at the exact right moment, grabs Courtney around the waist, with her still clutching the flag, and carries her to the base. At first she is outraged, but when Chris announces the Bass as the winners for the second challenge in a row, she is too ecstatic to care.

All the members of the Killer Bass have arrived back, except for Katie, and create a huddle around Duncan and Courtney, cheering, and she manages to give him a smile.

"Told you I'd win us the challenge!" she laughs.

"I think I'm the one who knocked out Trent and carried you to the finish line!" Duncan counters.

"Who told you to be up in the trees? Anyway, I could've done it without you!" she pokes her tongue out.

"Fine! You win, you're team captain." He gives in.

"Co-captains?" she holds her hand out for him to shake. He takes it.

"Co-captains." He agrees.

"This doesn't mean I like you. And I still might vote you off." Courtney warns. Duncan shrugs and the two continue to celebrate with their team.

* * *

Heather, Gwen, Leshawna, Izzy, Cody and Trent head back to their cabin only to find Owen, Noah, Justin and Lindsay coming towards them.

"Where were you?!" Heather demands.

"Is the challenge over?" asks Lindsay.

"Yes, and we LOST! What the hell were you doing?" Heather glares at the group and the others who actually participated in the challenge fold their arms in support.

"Sorry, Heather, Leshawna told me I could go and get food and I got kind of distracted. We've been chatting in the cabin." Owen taps his index fingers together nerevously.

"That is not good enough! One of you is going home tonight!" she stalks into the cabin, leaving the rest of her team outside feeling horrible.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I the guys who were in the cabin think one of them was going home. That way it will be easier to convince them to vote off who I really want gone. I am still annoyed they didn't participate in the challenge though. They will definitely be paying for it later."

CONFESSIONAL: Owen

"I feel so bad! I just went to get some food and I ran into Noah so we decided to go to the cabin and we kind of lost track of time. We were going to go back and join the others but we saw Lindsay and Justin coming and Justin said he didn't want to play anymore and Lindsay wasn't sure what the rules were so we tried to explain it to her, and to convince Justin, but by that stage the challenge was over!"

* * *

"Two campfire ceremonies in a row, not great, Gophers." Chris shakes his head in disappointment. "Okay, you know the drill, if you get a marshmallow, your safe, if you don't you're on the next boat of losers out of here. Gwen, Noah, Justin. Lindsay, Cody, Trent. Owen. Izzy." Chris looks from Leshawna to Heather, who are both without marshmellows. "Let's see, here, who's this last marshmallow for? Heather. I'm sorry Leshawna, you must head down to the dock of shame immediately."

"What!" Leshawna stands up, outraged. "Can't you people see this girl is plain nasty? She's probably telling you all kinds of lies to get you to vote for me, but I'm telling you, she'll stab you in the back as soon as she can. Don't you people learn?"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. They make their own decisions though, and they decided to vote you off so now you have to leave!" Chris says pleasantly. Leshawna marches angrily to the dock of shame and gets on the boat of losers. Her team goes down to see her off.

"I'm sorry Leshawna!" calls Gwen. Leshawna just shakes her head in disbelief.

CONFESSIONAL: Leshawna

"Gwen voted for me? Just what has Heather been saying? That team is going to regret this decision, let me tell you!"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I'm in an alliance with Gwen. Lindsay thinks we're best friends again. I told Owen and Justin we wouldn't vote for them as long as they voted for Leshawna. And Courtney convinced Noah. This is just too easy! Don't worry, Alejandro, baby, this million is ours!" She blows a kiss to the camera.


	5. But Only Nine Little Ducks Came Back

**Note - Hey everyone, I would just like to clarify, this IS a Duncney fanfic, but I also wanted to include all the other original cast members. There is a reason for everything and all will reveal itself in due time. Also I would like to thank you all for the kind reviews, it means a lot. I have been trying to put any suggestions you have in here, so I hope you're enjoying it! Thanks again!**

**Chapter Five – But Only Nine Little Ducks Came Back**

Gwen and Cody sit on the dock with their feet in the water.

"I'm really glad we got to see each other again, Gwen," says Cody. "I really wanted to tell you that I'm sorry we never worked out. Somewhere along the way I just fell out of love with you and in love with Sierra. I know this must really hurt you," Cody looks at her sympathetically. Gwen stifles a laugh, realising that he's serious.

"Cody, I'm really fine. I didn't come back on this island to start a relationship, I came to win a million dollars. It's getting really hard though, I miss Eddie so much, I've never been away from him for this long!"

"I know what you mean! I have a two year old daughter and Sierra is five months pregnant! I miss them like crazy! How old is Eddie?"

"He's three. What's your daughter's name?"

"Vera… I wanted to name her Gwen but Sierra didn't agree. In my head though, Vera is short for Guinevere." Cody smiles at Gwen. "But don't worry, I don't have a crush on you anymore. It was more out of just wanting to remember you, 'cause you're such a great person."

* * *

A few hours later the teams are gathered in front of Chris, waiting for him to tell them what the next challenge is.

"Good morning campers! I bet you're all itching to know what the next challenge is, so without further ado, here's Chef with your challenge!" Chef approaches the group holding something small and fluffy in each hand.

"Oh my god, that is sooo cute!" gushes Katherine. Chef hands one of the fluffy things, which happen to be ducklings, to DJ and one to Heather.

"Hey little man, I'm gonna take real good care of you!" coos DJ to the duckling, scratching his finger under it's chin. "You wanna pat it?" DJ holds out the duckling to Dawn who strokes its little fluffy head.

"DJ already has this challenge down pat. Each team has to look after their duckling for the day. In pairs you will care for the duckling until it is time for the next pair to look after it. Whichever duckling is in the best condition by the end of the day wins invincibility for their team, and also a reward! Today's reward is letters from home! The losing team must vote someone off! DJ, you'll be partnered with Geoff, Heather, you'll be partnered with Izzy. The rest of you can do what you want until it's your turn."

CONFESSIONAL: DJ

"I love animals! This challenge is great. Geoff's not so great with animals, but lucky he has me to help him. And Dawn loves animals too, the Bass are gonna rock this challenge!"

* * *

DJ and Geoff take their duckling into the dining room and put it on the table. They sit across from each other and make a barrier with their arms so the duckling doesn't fall off the table.

"What do ducklings eat?" asks Geoff.

"Plants and insects and stuff I guess," replies DJ. "Do you think we should get it some food and water?"

"I don't know, man, you're the animal guy," Geoff shrugs.

Heather walks into the dining room with her duckling, followed by Izzy. They walk over to the boys.

"Geoff, DJ. How's your duck?" asks Heather. DJ puts his hands over the duckling to protect it.

"Just fine, Heather." He says. Heather sits down next to Geoff and Izzy sits next to DJ. DJ lets go of the duckling and lets it roam free between his arms again.

"How cute are these ducks?" says Izzy. "I had a pet duck once. Well it was more of a goose actually, but it wasn't a baby. One time, it tried to attack me so I shot it with an arrow. It was all like 'arrghlllgh' and I was like 'hahaha' but it wasn't dead yet…" DJ and Geoff stare at Izzy in horror as she recounts her tale. Suddenly Geoff look down and he can't see the duckling.

"Uhh, DJ, I don't mean to alarm you, but where's the duckling?" DJ turns his attention away from Izzy and back to the table where the duckling should be.

"Fluffy! Where's Fluffy?" DJ looks around frantically.

"Oh, here he is!" Heather picks up the duckling which has wandered down the table. "He must have walked over your arms when you weren't looking!" She hands the duckling back to DJ and stands up.

"Thanks Heather! You're the best," says DJ, cuddling his duckling.

"I know." Heather and Izzy leave the boys in the dining room and head to their cabin.

"Let's build Fluffy a nest," says DJ and he and Geoff go out to find some sticks and grass and other nest building materials.

* * *

When Chris says the word, DJ and Geoff hand Fluffy over to Harold and Tyler in his nest, and Heather and Izzy give their duckling to Owen and Noah. Owen and Noah take their duckling and sit in the shade on a fallen tree. Owen holds the duckling in his hands.

"He's so small!" says Owen, "Do you think we should name him?" he brings the duckling up to his face and looks at it intently.

"I don't see why. We only have to give him up at the end of this challenge." Noah shrugs.

"Maybe we could keep him. I'm going to name him… Noah Junior." Says Owen proudly.

"Thanks." Noah rolls his eyes.

"We should have kids some day," says Owen, then his eyes widen as he realises what he's said. "And by we, I don't mean you and me together! I mean you and Courtney and me and someone," he giggles nervously. Noah rolls his eyes again.

"Let's stick with the duckling for now, okay?" Noah suggests. "Be careful, you're squishing him!" Owen loosens his grip as he had been squeezing the duck a little too tight.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared!" Owen hands the duckling to Noah to hold for a while and Noah rolls his eyes once again.

* * *

"So far the ducklings are in pretty good shape! Time to swap. Dawn and Bridgette for the Bass and Trent and Gwen for the Gophers!" Chris announces.

Dawn takes Fluffy from Harold and she and Bridgette go into their dorm to look after him.

"He's so sweet!" says Dawn. "I think our team is doing a much better job of looking after our duckling. I think he's hungry, do you have the food DJ got?"

"Yep, here," Bridgette hands Dawn a bowl of grass and bugs that DJ collected earlier. Fluffy is content in his little next as he gulps down the meal the girls have provided for him.

* * *

"Hey," says Trent cautiously, approaching Gwen with Noah Junior. She's sitting on the steps of the cabin, writing in a diary

"Is it our turn to look after him?" asks Gwen, closing the diary.

"Yep," says Trent, sitting down next to her, "you still keep a diary?" he doesn't say it in a nasty way, just as if he is slightly surprised.

"Yeah," says Gwen. "It's just habit now. It helps me to write my thoughts down. I think we're all old enough not to read out people's diaries." She smiles. Trent laughs.

"I don't know about that. Heather doesn't seem to have changed much." Trent holds out Noah Junior to Gwen. "Do you want to hold him?" Gwen nods and takes the little duckling in her hands.

"Does he have a name?" Gwen asks.

"Noah Junior," he shakes his head with a laugh, "Owen named him." Gwen laughs along with Trent.

"I miss this," Trent sighs. Gwen looks at him in interest.

"What do you miss? Looking after ducklings?" Gwen asks.

"No I miss talking to you, laughing with you," Trent says.

"Yeah, I kinda miss that too. What happened with us?" Gwen wonders.

"I kinda went crazy and paranoid and you got with Duncan." Trent reminds her.

'Oh, right." The two of them laugh. They fade off into a comfortable silence. Gwen cuddles the duck to her chest. "I hate this place," she sighs, "I miss Eddie."

"Eddie's your son, right?" Trent asks.

"Yeah, he's with my Mom right now."

"What's he look like?" Trent asks.

"He looks a lot like me actually. He's skinny with black hair. He's only three though," Gwen loves talking about Eddie, he's the best thing in her life.

"What happened to his dad? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"It's fine. He just kind of left. He told me he was going to stick around for Eddie but then one day I came home and he'd left a note saying he couldn't do it anymore. I was more upset for Eddie than for myself, he wasn't such a great guy."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Trent puts his arm around Gwen to comfort her. Gwen shrugs and crosses her arms. "I'm fine, but I wish Eddie had got to know him. It's going to be hard when he starts asking about his father."

"I'd like to meet Eddie someday," says Trent.

"I'd like for him to meet you too," Gwen smiles. Then she realises she has her arms folded and that Trent has his arms around her. "Um, Trent, I hate to spoil the moment, but where's Noah Junior?" Gwen says worriedly. Trent stands up and looks around.

"Uh oh, this is not good! We've got to find him before it's time to swap!"

* * *

Bridgette and Dawn are still in their cabin looking after Fluffy when another duckling wanders in.

"That must be the others teams duckling. Great job they're doing. I wonder why it came in here…" Bridgette says.

"It probably wants some of the food we have. I'd like to give it some but I don't want to help the other team. Let's just leave it for now," says Dawn. Bridgette agrees and they walk out of the cabin to see Trent and Gwen searching frantically for their duckling. The girls look at each other and take pity on them.

"I think your duck is in our cabin," says Bridgette.

"And you might want to give it some food," Dawn suggests.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gwen gives hugs both Dawn and Bridgette before rushing into their cabin to find the duckling, and just in time too, as Chris announces it is time to swap.

"Cody and Lindsay, Courtney and Duncan. Duckling time."

* * *

"I will hold the duckling, thank you!" says Courtney, snatching the nest from Duncan's hands.

"Fine, ducklings are for girls anyway!" Duncan says sulkily, secretly annoyed that he doesn't get to hold the duckling.

"You are so immature! Why did I agree to let you be co-captain? You couldn't lead this team if your life depended on it!"

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not a total psychopath!"

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"In a moment of weakness I said Duncan could be co-captain with me. Winning yesterday obviously made me forget that he is a complete imbecile! He can't even take care of a duckling!"

* * *

Gwen and Heather approach Courtney.

"I need to talk to you guys," says Gwen, "alone." She glances at Duncan, who refuses to meet her gaze. Courtney looks at Duncan as if she is trying to decide whether or not he is trustworthy enough to take care of the duckling on his own.

"Fine," she finally concedes, "Duncan, this duckling better not be dead when I get back!" She stalks off, leaving Gwen and Heather to follow her.

"So, what do you want?" Heather demands.

"I want to leave the competition," reveals Gwen.

"What? Like, _drop out_?" Courtney says, incredulous.

"Yeah," says Gwen, "I really miss Eddie. I don't need this show, and I don't need the money. I'm fine as I am."

"No way!" says Heather, angrily. "We made an alliance and you are not backing out now! We need you."

"Heather's right! Don't leave now Gwen! Please stay, for old time's sake?" Courtney pleads. Little do they know, Justin is watching from a few metres away.

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but it seems like they have some kind of alliance going on. Inter-team alliances? Why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

Courtney comes back to find Duncan reading Fluffy a picture book. She approaches slowly and quietly so he won't know she's there.

"Here is the near sheep, and here is the far sheep. Here is the moon sheep, and here is the star sheep. But where is the Green Sheep?" Duncan reads.

"What are you doing?" Courtney asks and Duncan jumps up, startled.

"Uhh, nothing. I was just… this book is for the duckling to poop on." Duncan tries to explain.

"You were reading to it. Where'd you even get that book?"

"No I wasn't. I found it in… Harold's bag."

"Why do you continue to pretend you're such as badass, when we all know by now that you aren't?" Courtney sits back on the step with him.

"Hey, I went to prison!" Duncan says. "That's as badass as you can get." Courtney just rolls her eyes.

* * *

Lindsay gets out her lipgloss and some ribbons. She ties one ribbon around Noah Junior's neck and one around his tail, then one around each of his feet. She puts some lipgloss on its beak, gets some hair gel and begins to style its fluffy feathers.

"Uh, Lindsay, I don't know if making the duckling into your model is really classed as taking care of it…" cautions Cody.

"Of course it is, Cody! Noah Junior needs to look his best!"

CONFESSIONAL: Lindsay

She holds Noah Junior up to the camera. "Isn't he precious?!"

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"Uh, I'm the only one left in my team who hasn't looked after the duckling. Do I have to do it by myself?"

* * *

"Eva and Katherine, you guys are a pair! Justin, since the rest of your team has already looked after the duckling, you will work with Eva and Katherine!" Chris' voice rings through the loudspeakers.

"What? This is so unfair! What if they try to sabotage me?" Justin complains. Chris doesn't answer. Justin grumbles as he roughly takes the duckling from Lindsay and goes to Eva and Katherine who are sitting on the dock with Fluffy.

"This duckling looks ridiculous!" he says as he watches it wander around the dock with all its ribbons trailing along behind it.

"Don't you think you should be keeping it closer to yourself? What if it runs off the edge of the dock?" asks Katherine worriedly.

"Katie, honey, I'm thirsty, would you run and get me a drink of water from the kitchen?" Justin flashes his best smile and Katherine swoons a little before running off to do his bidding, leaving Eva with their duckling. It's still in its nest so Eva just sits there watching it. That's when Justin realises this is his chance to copy Heather and make his own alliance with the other team.

"Soo…" says Justin.

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"Eva and Katie shouldn't be too hard to win over. Obviously they're in love with me."

* * *

"Eva, your… eyebrows are so… distinctive. It really brings out the colour of your eyes," Justin flatters. Eva looks at him in surprise.

"You… you really think so?" she says incredulously. Justin can't believe how easy this is.

"Oh, yes. And I really admire a woman who is so… bulky…"

"Well, I do work out." Eva boasts.

"I can tell. What field are you in again?"

"I'm a personal trainer."

"Wow, maybe you can train me someday," Justin winks and Eva actually blushes.

"Definitely. You're pretty hot. I mean… fit! I mean… you work out, so… it wouldn't be that hard to train you," Eva blushes again. Justin didn't think Eva could get tongue tied.

CONFESSIONAL: Eva

"Wow, Justin is so hot. I can't believe he was flirting with me. And I sounded like an idiot!"

* * *

When Katie arrives back with the water, Justin smiles charmingly.

"Katie, I'm so glad you're back! You know I overheard Gwen, Heather and Courtney earlier and I think they've formed an alliance!" Justin says suggestively.

"Really? I thought they hated each other!" says Katherine.

"You know who I hate? Bridgette!" Eva scowls, making her look even uglier. Justin flinches.

"Ohh, me too!" Katherine agrees.

"Really? Me too!" says Justin, joining the bandwagon. "You know, if we three made an alliance, we could easily get rid of her. And we could make it to the final three together!"

CONFESSIONAL: Katie

"Justin wants to make an alliance with me and take me to the final three? Yes please!"

* * *

"I'm in!" says Katie, she looks at Eva. Eva shrugs.

"Me too."

"Right, then it's settled!" Justin shakes hands with both girls, feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Justin, where's your duckling?" Katie wonders. Justin looks around. He has lost the duckling. Eva spots it out in the lake.

"There it is!" she points. The duckling is almost a speck in the distance, the only way you can tell that it is Noah Junior is the pink ribbons floating along with it.

"No!" shouts Justin.

"Want me to go and get it?" Eva offers. Justin is about to tell her yes when Chris announces that the challenge is over and all the competitors must report back to the front of the dining hall. Justin has the decency to look sheepish as he joins his team without the duckling. Katherine proudly carries Fluffy in his nest and she and Eva stand with the rest of the Killer Bass.

"Gophers. Where's your duckling?" Chris asks.

"I lost it." Justin hangs his head. Chris shakes his head.

"Wait, something's wrong," says Gwen, "why isn't Heather yelling?" Heather shrugs.

"Oh, I'm not that worried about it." She smiles and everyone has an eerie feeling that something is about to go her way.

"Bass, you took great care of your duckling! You only lost it once, you remembered to feed it and you didn't try to do its hair and make-up!" The Bass give each other high fives and cheer. "Unfortunately, that is not your duckling!" Chris snickers.

"WHAT?!" Courtney shouts. The rest of the team are as outraged as she is.

"That duckling belongs to the Screaming Gophers. Take a look at its foot." Sure enough, on the bottom of one of the ducklings webbed feet is the letter G for Gophers.

"How did we end up with their duckling?" Bridgette asks.

"Someone must have swapped them!" Chris laughs again and slides his eyes toward Heather.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"When Izzy had Geoff and DJ distracted I did the old switcheroo. It was almost too easy!" She laughs evilly.

* * *

"How could they have been swapped! We were watching our duckling the entire time!" Tyler complains. His team nods in agreement.

"Actually, you weren't! DJ and Geoff had a little lapse in concentration right at the beginning, thanks to Izzy!" Chris says. All the Bass look at Izzy in wonder.

"_Izzy _swapped the ducks?" asks Duncan in surprise. The rest of the team are as confused as he is.

"As if!" Heather interjects. "I swapped them, Izzy just did the distracting. Like she could come up with a plan like that!" The Bass shoot Heather dirty looks but she is completely unfazed by them.

"So since the Gophers are the only team with a duckling here, the Bass lose! Gophers get these letters from home. Bass you get to eliminate someone! See you

soon!"

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"If Geoff and DJ had been paying attention, none of this would have happened! One of them has to go!"

* * *

Courtney calls a team meeting, excluding Geoff and DJ. They both know one of them is going tonight, although they have tried to convince some of their team not to vote for them.

"I'm voting for DJ! Geoff is stronger in challenges so DJ is less important." Courtney says. Bridgette and Tyler nod in agreement.

"I don't know..." says Duncan.

"Duncan, I know what you're thinking, but are you here to make friends or are you here to make money?"

CONFESSIONAL:Duncan

"I know I said on the first day that I hated these people, but I've kinda grown fond of them again. Getting rid of DJ is gonna be hard."

CONFESSIONAL:Eva

"Screw what Courtney says, I hate that bitch. The only reason I'm not voting for her is because I hate Bridgette more! And Katie agrees with me!"

* * *

At the familiar Campfire ceremony, Chris says the familiar words.

"These people are safe: Courtney, Eva, Harold, Katie, Dawn, Duncan, Tyler and Bridgette." Chris says. Eva and Katherine scowl when Bridgette's name is called. Geoff and DJ look at each other sadly. "And the final marshmallow goes to… Geoff!"

DJ stands up sadly. "It's alright, guys, I understand. It was my time to go."

CONFESSIONAL: DJ

"It's all my fault the ducks got switched, I deserved to go. Dawn told me she didn't vote for me though, so that's nice. Hopefully we can stay friends."


	6. So Out of Date

**Note - Hey everyone, thanks again for the reviews. I just want to apologise for the last chapter, I feel DJ's elimination was a bit forced. The only reason I got rid of him is because I don't really have a story line for him and he was kind of hard to write for. I hope this chapter makes up for it! Happy reading! **

**Chapter Six – So Out of Date**

Justin walks past Eva who is lifting weights out the front of her cabin.

"Looking good!" He points his finger at her and winks as he continues on his way to the lake for a swim. Eva almost drops the weights on herself as she struggles to regain her composure. Justin walks out to the dock and dives in, splashing Courtney and Tyler who are sitting on the edge of the dock.

"It really sucks that we have to be on opposite teams to our fiancé's! Uh, I mean, your fiancé and my girlfriend." Says Tyler. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, that really does suck!"

"Obviously I want to win challenges but I really hate to see Lindsay lose," Tyler continues, "you must find it hard too, right? And having to be in different cabins."

"Yeah, like I said, it sucks. If you miss Lindsay so much, why aren't you with her right now?" Courtney hints, trying to get Tyler to leave her alone. When did he get the idea that they had something in common?

"She's in the shower," answers Tyler.

"Ugh, so why aren't you in there with her?" Tyler thinks for a moment.

"Good point!" he says and hurries off, Courtney breathes a sigh of relief. Her relief is short lived though as Katherine comes and joins her on the dock.

"Do you mind?" says Courtney rudely, "I'm trying to get some peace and quiet."

"Sorry, I just came out here to watch Justin swim. Is that what you're doing?"

"Uh, no! I have a fiancée, remember? Ugh." Courtney rolls her eyes and lies down on the dock. "Are you going to be here long?" Katherine shrugs.

"There's something you should probably know, Courtney." Katherine says mysteriously. Courtney sits up.

"What is it?"

"Bridgette told me she is really getting sick of you. She tried to get Eva and I to vote you off, but we see right through her. We're going to vote her off next, if you'd care to join," Katherine shrugs like its not big deal, but she is obviously hoping Courtney will agree to the plan.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Katie is so transparent! As if Bridgette would say that about me. But I may as well go along with it, then I can have Eva and Katie on my side, if only for a little while."

* * *

"I can't believe she said that! She is going down!" Courtney says. Katie smiles.

* * *

It's about seven o'clock in the evening and the campers walk over to the dining hall, expecting to get their dinner. They are all relieved they've had a day off and have enjoyed spending the day relaxing. But when they get to the door they find Chris blocking their way. He is wearing a tux and a fake moustache.

"What's with the facial hair dude?" asks Geoff.

"Can we go in? I'm hungry!" complains Owen.

"Nope! Sorry campers! I bet you thought there was no challenge today didn't you?" Chris chuckles. Several people groan, dreading what is coming next.

"We didn't have a challenge today," says Lindsay. "And it's night time now."

"Technically, yes. But anyway, I'm about to tell you what your challenge is for tonight!"

"Can't you just let us have one day off to rest?" asks Cody.

"No! Tonight you must take a member of the opposite team out on a date! You better make them enjoy it too, because you'll all be hooked up to my enjoyment machine and whichever team gets their dates to enjoy the night the most wins invincibility!"

"Oh yay, dates, how original. You'd think this was a match making show by most of the challenges you idiots think up," Noah says sarcastically.

"Well, the network didn't like my idea for a dating show so I have to put all the ideas from that into this show!" Chris responds. "Now for your pairs. Justin and Eva. Noah and Courtney. Lindsay and Tyler. Heather and Duncan."

"What? Gross! No way." Heather protests.

"I'm not exactly thrilled with this arrangement either." Duncan says.

"I don't care. It's one night and it's not a real date! You'll live." Chris says. "Continuing on! Gwen and Geoff, Izzy and Harold, Trent and Katie, Cody and Dawn and Owen and Bridgette. Treat this like a real date! You have an hour to get ready. Boys you must pick up your date from the front of her cabin and escort her back down here to the dining hall. Off you go!" The girls race off to their cabins to get beautiful and the boys slowly dawdle back to theirs, reluctant at best.

* * *

"This is so dumb! Why does Chris always insist on pairing us up in ridiculous ways! And how you get to go on a date with your boyfriend, and I have to date Duncan?!" Heather complains to Lindsay, stamping her foot. Lindsay continues to put about seventeen layers of mascara on.

"Are you listening?" Heather asks in annoyance. Lindsay nods.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready Heather?" she asks.

"Why should I dress up for that sleazebag? He's only going to look down my top and try to get up my skirt. And I already have a husband!" Heather sits down on one of the bunks. Lindsay has now moved onto her hair and is running a straightening iron down it. Izzy is doing Gwen's hair into a dozen little pigtails on top of her head. Heather looks over to them and flinches at the horrific sight.

"Uh, maybe I should do Gwen's hair," suggests Heather, taking the brush from Izzy's hands.

"Heather, you have to make Duncan enjoy his date! And for that you have to look hot!" says Lindsay, finishing her straightening. It looks exactly the same as before she started.

"I guess you're right. At least I won't have a good time." Heather brushes out Gwen's black hair and puts it into a classy bun. "Do you own any dresses that aren't black?" Heather asks Gwen.

"I don't think I even brought any dresses with me!" says Gwen. Heather rolls her eyes.

"You can borrow one of mine then. What's Geoff's favourite colour?"

"I don't know… blue?"

"Blue it is!" Heather rifles through her suitcase to find a blue dress. Lindsay holds up two different red dresses.

"Should I wear this one, or this one?" she asks.

"The red one, definitely the red one!" says Izzy excitedly. She has done her own hair into a waterfall ponytail on top of her head and is dressed in a green leopard print leotard. Lindsay smiles and nods and puts one of them down and dresses herself in the other.

"Oh my god, Izzy, put some clothes on!" says Gwen. "Here, wear this skirt," she hands Izzy a black skirt that Heather had thrown on the ground earlier. Heather still hasn't gotten herself ready in the slightest, but the other three are looking their best.

"Heather, you better get ready, the boys will be here soon!" worries Lindsay.

"I'm going to make Duncan wait! I'll get ready later."

* * *

"Eva, please let me wax your eyebrows!" Katie begs. Eva shakes her head.

"I'm not going to do something just to live up to society's expectations!" Eva growls.

"I totally agree Eva! I hate that we have to do so much to ourselves to apparently be beautiful!" Bridgette agrees wholeheartedly.

"No one asked you, Blondie!" Eva shouts unnecessarily. Katie turns up her nose at Bridgette and huffs as she curls her hair into tight ringlets.

"At least wear a dress, Eva!" demands Courtney, "You too Bridgette. You want the boys to actually like how his date looks!"

"Who cares what they think?" Eva says, sniffing her armpit. "At least I smell okay."

"I care what they think, because I WANT TO WIN!" Courtney rages. The girls flinch at Courtney's outburst and go back to silently getting ready.

* * *

"Do you think Lindsay will like this flower?" Tyler asks, holding up a half dead daisy. Harold, Duncan and Geoff look at it. Harold nods approvingly, Duncan shrugs and Geoff hits his forehead with his hand.

"Duncan, why aren't you getting ready?" asks Geoff as Harold ties the bowtie on his tux. Chris has provided all the boys with attire for the night, knowing none of them would have even brought a nice shirt to the island.

"My date is Heather. I'd like to spend as less time with her as possible."

* * *

Trent holds the door open as the boys file out of the cabin to collect their dates.

"My suit is too tight and I can't breathe!" complains Owen, fiddling with his bowtie.

"Just take it off then," suggests Noah. The boys all look at him in confusion. "What? It's called sarcasm. It's what I do!" Noah shakes his head and walks off to go and get Courtney for their date. Owen shrugs at the other boys and follows Noah. Trent, Justin and Cody shake their heads as they tag along behind.

* * *

The contestants walk into the dining hall to find it completely redecorated. There are nine tables, each with a candle and a rose in a vase standing on it. Cody takes Dawn's hand and leads her to their table. Tyler follows suit and makes sure to pull out Lindsay's chair for her to sit down. She has the daisy he gave her tucked behind her ear. Noah gives Courtney a peck on the cheek before she sits down and he sits across from her. Courtney is wearing a floor length dark purple dress with a slit up the side and a sweetheart neckline.

"Do you like my dress, honey?" she asks Noah.

"Uh huh," he says, picking up the menu. She rolls her eyes and touches her hand to her hair, making sure her French bun is still in place. She then twirls one of the loose tendrils that curl around her face around her finger, wondering why there is no wine on the table.

Owen nearly knocks over several candles as he leads Bridgette to their table. Bridgette's dress is the only dress she's every owned – the one she wore to apologise to Geoff during World Tour. Geoff doesn't show any indication that he notices or cares.

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"That dress kinda brought back some memories for me. I'm doing a really good job at pretending I don't care about Bridge at all but just 'cause we broke up doesn't mean I don't think about her sometimes. Things just didn't work out, because… well some things just don't, you know?"

* * *

Katie is wearing an extremely short, extremely tight strapless black dress and she makes sure Trent gets a good view of her backside as she walks ahead of him to their table, which she makes sure is right next to Owen and Bridgette.

CONFESSIONAL: Katie

"Eva, Justin and I have decided that we need to sabotage Bridgette in every challenge until she goes home. We're going to make sure Owen has the worst date of his life!"

Dawn floats to her table in a white dress with a blue and green floral pattern. The dress flows out behind her and as Cody follows her to the table he wonders why she doesn't have wings. She hasn't done anything different with her hair but she still looks ethereal.

Eva looks completely out of place in a poofy pink dress made of tulle and glitter that she has borrowed off Courtney.

CONFESSIONAL: Eva

"Courtney forced me into this monstrosity! And she even did my hair."

* * *

Eva's hair has been teased and fluffed up giving it a lot of volume. She had drawn the line at eyebrow and leg waxing though, punching Courtney in the boob when she'd tried to hold her down. Eva and Justin sit on the other side of Bridgette and Owen, smirking at Katie knowingly as they do so, and she gives them a wink.

Once everyone is sitting at their tables, other than Heather and Duncan who haven't arrived yet, Chris enters the room.

"Welcome diners! Tonight you have a choice of three different mains and two different desserts. The meals will be lovingly cooked by chef and brought to you by our lovely interns! Now, on your table you will each find a small object that looks a little like a thumb tack. Please place it on your pinky finger on whichever hand you prefer." Everyone finds the little silver things and does as Chris has instructed. "You are now hooked up to my enjoyment machine! You won't be able to see how much you or your fellow competitors are enjoying the date, but I will. At the end of the night it will come up with an average that I will reveal to everyone. Have a lovely evening!"

After Chris finishes his speech, nine interns come into the room from the kitchen and head to a table each. One intern is left looking around for the couple that is supposed to be on his table, as Heather and Duncan still haven't arrived.

"Where's Duncan?" hisses Courtney. Noah shrugs.

"I don't know. Why do you care anyway?" he frowns.

"I don't, obviously. Except for the fact that he's on my team and he is late for a challenge! Typical." She then turns to the waiter and orders a bottle of Shiraz. She orders meals for both her and Noah and the waiter heads back into the kitchen.

"I wanted the vegetarian meal," Noah complains. Courtney huffs.

"Sorry, dear. Next time I'll remember to ask," she smiles and puts her hand over his.

* * *

Heather sits on her bed tapping her foot. She got ready after the other girls had left, expecting Duncan to be outside waiting for her, but he still isn't there. Finally she hears a knock on the door and gets up to answer it.

"Finally! Where have you been? The challenge has started!"

"Nice to see you too," Duncan says dryly.

"Whatever! Let's just go already!" Heather stomps down the steps of the cabin and towards the dining hall, leaving Duncan to follow her. He rolls his eyes as he descends the steps.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Being on a date with Heather was like dating Courtney again, only much, much worse."

* * *

Heather and Duncan finally make it to their table which is right next to Courtney and Noah's table. Courtney stands up as soon as she sees Duncan.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to make us lose the challenge? Heather has to have a good time!" she reprimands. Duncan just looks her up and down.

"Nice dress," he says, without a hint of sarcasm. She looks at him suspiciously, trying to decide whether he is being sincere or not.

"Thanks, but flattery will get you nowhere!"

"Um, hello, Duncan? You're supposed to be on a date with me! You can make out with Princess Courtney later!"

"We are not making out!" Duncan says at the same time as Courtney yells, "I have a fiancé!"

"Whom you're supposed to be on a date with I believe?" Heather points out, glancing at Noah who has been watching the whole interaction with a rather amused look on his face. Courtney rolls her eyes and sits back down.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," says Courtney to Noah.

* * *

"I was trying to decide between this one and one that was completely see-through but I thought that might be a little risqué for our first date. I just wanted to wear the leotard but Gwen thought I should wear a skirt. What do you think?" Izzy says to Harold.

"I think you look nice in whatever you wear, Izzy. My girlfriend Lisa is a gymnast, she looks great in a leotard too. She won a trophy last month." Harold boasts proudly. Izzy narrows her eyes at him.

"Hmph," she says, turning her head up and away from Harold.

"What's wrong, Izzy?" Harold asks, concerned.

"You really shouldn't talk about your girlfriend while you're on a date with another girl!"

"Uh, Izzy, you do know this isn't a real date?"

CONFESSIONAL: Izzy

"Of course I know it isn't a real date! But we're meant to act like it's a real date! Talking about his girlfriend is so rude. He should talk about his adventures or pets like me. Like one time I took my cat to Egypt and all the people thought he was their god so it took us like five weeks to get out. Hahaha, it was so funny."

* * *

"It's so great to finally catch up with you, Gwen!" says Geoff genuinely as their food is brought out by the interns.

"Yeah," says Gwen, "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Such a shame! I should have kept in touch! I've been so busy with my show though, and well, you know… the whole thing with Bridgette…"

"You mean your break up?"

"Yeah." Geoff drops his head.

"What happened with you guys? Not that you have to tell me," Gwen says.

"I thought you would have read about it in the magazines. Everyone else seemed to." Geoff says bitterly. Gwen looks a little sheepish.

"I may have read something about it. Doesn't mean I believe it."

"Well despite what the magazines say she did not propose to me, and I did not refuse. I didn't cheat on her with a model or a foreign exchange student. I just… I couldn't give her what she wanted. So we ended it." Gwen desperately wants to ask what it was that Bridgette wanted, but she feels that Geoff doesn't want to talk about it anymore so she just starts to eat her meal and Geoff does the same.

* * *

"Hey Owen, Bridgette, how's your date going?" asks Katherine, getting them to turn towards her, just as their meals are being placed on the table.

"Umm, great thanks, Katie, how's yours?" Bridgette responds. Katie glowers.

"It's Katherine." She turns back to Trent who looks a little bewildered at the interaction that just took place. Owen and Bridgette turn their attention to their food, only to find that Owen's plate is missing.

"Hey, where's my food?" Owen complains. He looks around then looks under the table to no avail. Justin and Eva are laughing and Owen turns to them.

"What's so funny?" Owen asks.

"Oh, nothing, Owen. Eva just told a really funny joke." Justin says. Bridgette raises her eyebrows.

"Eva told a joke?" she asks disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it was about what a backstabbing traitor you are," Eva snarls. Bridgette flinches at the remark and turns back to her food, suddenly not feeling that hungry.

"Here, Owen, do you want my meal?" she offers. Owen looks at the vegetarian meal sceptically before nodding and taking the plate from her.

CONFESSIONAL: Owen

"I honestly don't know what happened to my food! Did I eat it and not remember eating it? It was nice of Bridgette to give me hers though, even if it was vegetarian. It was better than nothing."

* * *

"Soo… Heather…" Duncan begins, trying to break the silence and hopefully give Heather a passably good time.

"Please don't talk to me." Heather says shortly. Duncan and Heather were too late to order their meal so they sit hungrily in silence, both hating life. Duncan's gaze drifts over to Courtney's table. She's whispering to Noah about who knows what, and they look very cozy as they lean in to talk to each so no one else can hear. He thought maybe their relationship was on the rocks earlier when Courtney had ditched Noah to yell at him, but now they seems like they are totally in love. Duncan feels a sudden rush of resentment, though he's not sure if it's directed at Courtney or Noah, or possibly Heather. Courtney looks up from her apparently enthralling conversation for a moment and meets Duncan's eyes. He quickly looks away before he can be accused of not paying attention to his date. When he looks back again, Courtney has returned to deep a conversation with Noah.

* * *

As dessert is brought to the tables, Katie pulls her dress down a little, showing way too much cleavage. Trent raises his eyebrows but she's not doing it for him.

"Hey, Owen, what do you think of my dress?" Katie asks seductively. Owen glances over.

"It's nice, I guess…" he says before turning to the waiter who is about to put his dessert down on the table. Katie frowns. She knocks her spoon off the table in the direction of Owen.

"Oh my god, I just dropped my spoon, could you please get it Owen?"

"I'll get it," says Trent, as Owen is still staring at the waiter, who seems to be taking forever to bring his dessert to him.

"Ugh, don't worry, I'll get it!" Katie bends down to get the spoon when suddenly her boobs pop out of her dress. 'Oh my god!" she shrieks, trying to cover herself and stuff her boobs back into her dress. She certainly has Owen's attention now, along with everyone else in the room. Except for Eva and Justin that is, who take both Bridgette and Owen's desserts and hide it under their own table, laughing the whole time. Katie eventually manages to get her dress back into place.

"What?" she snaps. "Like you've never seen boobs before? God, immature much? So Trent, like what you see?" she flirts. Trent doesn't really know what to say.

CONFESSIONAL: Katherine

"Obviously I did it on purpose. I needed Owen's attention, so that Eva and Justin could take his food so he has a bad date! Also, I have nice boobs, so, so what?"

* * *

"Where's my dessert?!" Owen cries desperately. He had been so looking forward to it.

"And where's mine?" Bridgette agrees.

"This is the worst date ever!" Owen slams his head on the table and Bridgette closes her eyes in frustration. Justin and Eva exchange satisfied looks with Katherine.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"I am certain someone sabotaged my date. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was Eva. Why does she hate me so much? I never did anything to her! I'm nice!"

* * *

The couples begin to finish their meals and go back to their cabins, as Chris has announced that they will find out the winner in the morning. Tyler keeps his hand in Lindsay's as he walks her back to her dorm. He gives her a goodnight kiss at the door and they start to make out passionately, Lindsay up against the door so no one else can pass. They break the kiss for just a moment so that Lindsay can ask, "Do you want to come in?"

"Not a chance!" says Heather, pushing past them and into the cabin, pulling Lindsay with her. Lindsay shoots Tyler an apologetic look as the door slams shut in his face. Tyler walks down the steps and joins Duncan in the walk back to their cabin.

"Did you have a good night?" Tyler asks. Duncan gives him a look that says "are you kidding me?" and after that they stay silent.

* * *

Chris is ready with the results of the challenge at breakfast the next morning.

"Now, it's time to find out how much you guys enjoyed your dates! Let's start with Lindsay and Tyler. You both enjoyed your dates a lot, with a score of ten out of ten each. So, the scores are even. Courtney and Noah, both receive four out of ten. Scores tied at 14 each."

"How did you guys not enjoy your date? You're engaged!" protests Geoff.

"It's called acting! We're both great at it, and we were able to act like we weren't enjoying each others company, when clearly, we were!" Courtney smiles at Noah and he smiles back.

"Heather," Chris continues, "you enjoyed your date zero, and Duncan you enjoyed your date two. Seems like you had a good time." Chris says sarcastically. Heather seems pleased that she managed to not raise her teams score.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I didn't really have to try not to enjoy the date, Duncan is a HORRIBLE date. I'm kind of surprised he got a two, he didn't seem to enjoy it at all either. Although it was probably because he was staring at Courtney the whole night." She rolls her eyes.

* * *

"Cody and Dawn both receive a seven!"

CONFESSIONAL: Dawn

"Cody and I had a nice time, we just chatted about our lives. He talked about his wife and daughter and I talked about my boyfriend. We don't really have anything in common though."

* * *

"Izzy, you enjoyed your date a six, despite Harold talking about his girlfriend, and Harold you enjoyed your date a five, presumably because Izzy is insane. Scores are 27-28, with the Gophers enjoying their dates slightly less. It's so close! Gwen, you enjoyed your date a seven, Geoff, eight. Trent, six, Katherine, eight. Owen three, Bridgette, four. With one couple left the Bass are in trouble, being five points higher than the Gophers."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Eva never enjoys anything, so surely she enjoyed the date a lot less than Justin!"

* * *

"Justin, you enjoyed the date five out of ten. Eva… you enjoyed the date… nine out of ten! Gophers win! Bass, you're sending someone home tonight!"

"That's impossible!" Eva protests.

"Eva, you spent the night drooling over Justin and laughing at your own 'jokes'" Chris says, using his fingers to make quotation marks when he says the word jokes.

CONFESSIONAL: Chef Hatchett

"Not one person complimented me on the meals. I made eighteen beautiful dinners last night. And they wonder why I normally don't put a lot of effort into their meals!"

* * *

The Gophers leave after breakfast to enjoy their day of relaxing without having an elimination hanging over their heads. The Bass however stay in the dining hall where they erupt into an intense argument.

"This is not acceptable! How dare you lose the challenge for us!" Courtney rages to no one in particular.

"It's Duncan's fault, Heather didn't enjoy the date at all." Harold says.

"Hey, what about Tyler?! He got a ten!" Duncan protests.

"So did Lindsay! You didn't even try to get Heather to enjoy the date!" Courtney yells.

"It's Bridgette's fault! Owen had a horrible date!" Katherine puts in.

"Oh shut up Katie, we all know you and Eva were sabotaging her!" Courtney spits.

"What? How did you know – ow!" Eva stomps on Katherine's foot to shut her up.

"We didn't sabotage her. She's a traitor and she's letting the team down!"

"Eva, don't think you're off the hook. You got a nine! Maybe if you'd spent a little less time focusing on getting rid of Bridgette and more time focusing on your own date, we wouldn't be in this position!" Courtney screams.

"That's it!" Eva roars. She flies at Courtney who shrieks as they both crash to the floor. Eva starts hitting Courtney with her fists. Courtney tries to kick at her and hit back but she's pinned to the floor by Eva's thick legs.

"Somebody HELP ME!" Courtney screeches. The boys stand back, not wanting to hit a girl, even if it is Eva. Katie cheers Eva on, and Bridgette runs to get something to hit Eva over the head with. Dawn simply walks over to Eva and whispers in her ear. Eva immediately stops hitting Courtney and leaves the dining hall. The rest of the team crowds around Courtney to see if she's okay.

"She has got to go." Courtney breathes and everyone knows she's fine.

CONFESSIONAL: Dawn

"All I said to Eva was a few calming words. She has rage issues, it's evident in her aura but I could also see that it's because she feels everything very intensely. She just needed me to tell her about the ocean, and about the breeze and she calmed down."

* * *

At the campfire ceremony everyone is feeling tense. Chris gets straight into it, reading out the names of the people who are safe for the day.

"Tyler, Geoff, Dawn, Harold. Courtney, Katherine, Bridgette and… Duncan. Sorry Eva, time for you to head down to the dock of shame and catch the boat of losers!" Eva looks murderous. Quickly, Dawn goes to her side and starts whispering to her again. Instead of flying off the handle, Eva just gives the group a sweeping glare.

"You'll regret this," she promises and Dawn leads her down to the dock. The Killer Bass breathe a sigh of relief that they all survived Eva's elimination.

CONFESSIONAL: Katherine

"I'm a little worried now. Eva and I had an alliance and now that she's gone I'm not really sure how safe my position in the competition is. I guess it's time to suck up to someone else."


	7. Picture Perfect

**Note - So I watched the All Stars finale today, and the island got blown up! That kinda sucks for this fanfic, but other than that there was nothing that directly contradicted anything I've written, so we're going to pretend Camp Wawanakwa got rebuilt specifically for this haha! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's kind of short!**

**Chapter Seven – Picture Perfect**

CONFESSIONAL: Katherine

"So who should I choose to be my new ally? Obviously not Courtney or Bridgette since they both hate me now, so that probably rules out Dawn too. So that leaves the boys. Who hates Courtney and Bridgette? Oh, I know…"

* * *

"Hey, Duncan, Geoff," says Katherine sweetly as she approaches the boys.

"What do you want?" Duncan demands, carving a skull into a tree. Geoff looks at Duncan's skull and back to his own which he is copying from Duncan, but it doesn't really resemble a skull at all.

"Does a girl have to want something to talk to her teammates?" Katie says, fake hurt.

"Uh, yes! So what is it?" Duncan stops carving and turns to face her. Katherine drops the act.

"Well, I was thinking… well… the thing is…" she can't quite decide how to phrase her proposition.

"Maybe you should have practised this speech before you came to us," Duncan rolls his eyes. "Look, I know what you want, and it's not going to happen! No way are we forming an alliance with you."

"Please! The girls hate me now, and I know I'm going to be the next to go! If we band together we can get rid of Courtney or Bridgette next! I know you guys hate them." Katie reasons.

"I don't hate Bridgette," says Duncan, just as Geoff is saying "I don't hate Courtney."

"But they both have to go at some stage! Just think about it okay?" The boys nod and she leaves them to their weird tree carvings.

* * *

"Campers. Welcome to another fun filled challenge. You'll be happy to know today is a nice relaxed challenge, we don't want you all getting worked up like you did yesterday!" Chris addresses the two teams in front of their cabins.

"It wasn't the challenge that got us worked up, it was some people's inability to participate efficiently in the challenge!" Courtney says icily.

"Right. Anyway today each team will be painting a mural on one of those big white walls over there that we flew in overnight. I'm surprised none of you asked about them yet!"

"We kind of looked at them, but then we decided we don't care." Says Noah. Chris frowns.

"Well anyway, you know now! There's paint over there and Chef and I will judge the winner. You have three hours." Chris folds his arms and stares at the contestants, waiting for them to go. They stand there and look at him. "Why aren't you going?" Chris asks.

"Wait, that's it? That's the entire challenge? Painting?" Cody wonders.

"Wow, I'm sorry, is that not exciting enough for you? You know I work my butt off to think up these challenges and you guys are so ungrateful!" Chris starts to tear up. Chef comes and puts his arm around him and leads him away, glaring at the contestants who stand still, bewildered.

"Well… I guess we should get painting?" Bridgette suggests. Her team shrugs and walks over to one of the walls and Gophers go to the other wall. The walls are directly next to each other.

"What are we going to paint?" Courtney asks the team their opinion for once.

"We could paint a forest scene," suggests Dawn. Nobody really likes the idea as it is kind of lame and boring but no one can think of anything better so they go along with it.

"Let's wait till the Gophers start so they can't copy us," says Courtney.

* * *

"How about we all just paint what we want and see what it looks like in the end?" Owen proposes.

"That's the stupidest idea ever!" Heather says insultingly, "we need a theme at the very least!"

"How about a big pie?" is Owen's next idea. Heather rolls her eyes.

"Anyone else?"

"We could paint a picture of Chris to try and cheer him up," Trent says. The Gophers nod their heads in approval.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"I know everyone thinks this is a great idea, but I can't help thinking that the last time I tried to paint Chris, I got eliminated from All-Stars. Maybe I'll stick to the background."

* * *

Once the Gophers have started their painting the Bass get to work on their forest scene. Courtney divides up the wall into eight sections and allocates everyone their own section to work on. They collect some paint and ladders from the materials pile at begin painting. Duncan, Katie, Harold and Bridgette are on the ladders painting the top half.

"Psst, Duncan…" Katie whispers.

"What?" Duncan says apathetically, painting blobs which are supposed to be leaves. Katie gets her paint roller and starts a tree trunk.

"Did you think about my offer?" she whispers, nodding her head towards Bridgette. Duncan rolls his eyes.

"Yeah. We talked about it. We're in, for now."

"Great! First order of business for this alliance is taking out Bridgette, carrying on Eva's brilliant work!"

"Eva was psycho, and probably a serial killer."

"We need to sabotage her…" says Katie, still talking about Bridgette.

"And how are you going to do that?" Duncan asks sceptically.

"I'll think of something!"

* * *

Tyler is on the side of the wall closest to the Gophers. He dips his brush in the green paint and glances around to make sure no one's watching before he flicks his paintbrush at Lindsay. The paint hits Lindsay in the arm and she looks up to see Tyler grinning at her like an idiot. She smiles and dips her paintbrush in the blue paint and flicks paint back at Tyler. It goes all over his shirt. He laughs and flicks more paint at her, only this time it hits Heather in the face, who had come over to Lindsay to tell her to get back to work. Heather shrieks and picks up an entire tin of red paint and throws it at Tyler. Tyler ducks and the paint tin hits Geoff in the head, but not before red paint has rained down on Courtney and Dawn who were the other two painting at ground level. The girls and Geoff looked stunned for a moment and Heather, Lindsay and Tyler stare at them, waiting to see what they'll do. Geoff bursts into laughter and Courtney picks up a spare paintbrush, completely covers it in yellow paint and throws it at Heather. Heather turns to run and the paintbrush hits her in the back.

Katherine notices the commotion going on below them and decides it's her chance to join in the fun. She throws her entire paint tray which is filled with brown paint at Bridgette's face. She is a bad throw but it still hits Bridgette in the stomach, causing her to lose balance and fall from her ladder. Duncan looks at Katie with a bemused expression on his face.

"Subtle." He says sarcastically. Luckily Geoff is there to break Bridgette's fall, unfortunately he also breaks his own wrist.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! Are you alright?" Bridgette apologises, before realising who she's landed on. "Oh, it's just you." She says, getting up.

Geoff holds his wrist and lies on the ground groaning. "Someone should probably help him," Bridgette says to no one in particular. That's when a pot of green paint is poured on her head. She looks up.

"Katie, can you not?!" she calls up. Katie laughs hysterically. By now most people have joined in the paint fight, apart from Duncan and Harold who are watching from the ladders. Tyler slips in paint so his whole back his covered. Lindsay runs to help him up and the end up making out against the Killer Bass' wall, leaving a red Tyler shaped mark on the wall. Bridgette grabs her ladder and swings it at Katie's causing Katie and her ladder to topple onto Duncan's, which then topples onto Harold's in a domino effect. The three of them land in a pile and Heather and Courtney smirk at each other before grabbing a paint can each and pouring it over the pile of people. Courtney runs back to the wall as Duncan snatches Heather's tin of paint and chases her with it, while Katie and Harold race after Heather. As Courtney reaches the wall Duncan flings the paint, covering her and the wall in purple paint. Courtney gasps and Duncan laughs.

"You are so going to get it!" says Courtney, but she has a smile on her face. Duncan turns and legs it with Courtney in pursuit but they both slip in the large puddle of paint that has formed underneath the walls. Courtney grabs Duncan's Mohawk and rubs his face in the paint, laughing the whole time.

"Gross! I got paint in my mouth!" Duncan complains.

"Let me get that for you," she says, but Duncan doesn't get to find out what she means as Chris and Chef walk over then, with looks of horror on their faces.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Chris shouts. Chef just shakes his head in disbelief. They stare at the carnage before them

By now the walls are covered in splashes of different coloured paint, some hand prints and a Tyler print. All the contestants are covered in multicoloured paint. Heather is being held on the ground by Katie, with Harold holding a tray of paint above her head, Duncan and Courtney are lying awfully close together in a puddle of paint, Tyler and Lindsay are making out against the wall, Dawn is bandaging Geoff's wrist, Bridgette is swinging a ladder around and Izzy is jumping over is every time it comes near her. Gwen and Trent are chasing Owen and Noah with paintbrushes and Justin has Cody in a headlock. They all freeze once they hear Chris' voice.

Eventually Heather stands up and brushes herself off, for all the good it does her.

"Chris! Um, the Gophers have painting a lovely picture of… you." She smiles tensely. Gwen hits her forehead with her hand. Chris looks at the mess of colours in disgust.

"That is almost as bad as the portrait Gwen did in season five!" Chris yells. "And what in the world did the Bass paint?"

"A forest scene?" Dawn says timidly. Chef shakes his head again.

"I declare no one to be the winner! You all suck!" Chef announces.

"A paint fight? Really? Are you guys twenty six or sixteen? Grow up! Now, because of this pitiful effort, you'll have to do a tiebreaker challenge. You…" Chris says pointing at Cody, "and you!" Chris points at Katherine. He looks around, trying to think up a quick challenge. "Climb up that tree over there. Whoever gets to the top first wins invincibility for their team. Go!"

Katie and Cody look startled for a second before running towards the tree. They reach it at almost the same time and begin climbing. Katie, being taller, gets to the first branch more easily and kicks Cody in the face in the process. She climbs to the top of the tree in record time and leaves Cody in her dust.

"Bass win! See you Gophers at elimination!" Chris stalks off, still cranky about the way his challenge worked out, with Chef following him.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Great, we lost the challenge. How could I let my team get involved in something as childish as a paint fight?!"

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"So, Courtney was really weird today. What in the world did she mean when she said 'let me get that for you?' I swore for a moment she was going to kiss me but that's impossible because for one thing she hates me and for another her fiancé was standing right there! I can't ask her about it because then it might seem like I care, which I don't! I absolutely do not want to kiss Courtney."

* * *

The Gophers arrive at the campfire, still covered in paint. Chris laughs at them

"Yeah, that paint is going to take a while to come off! Serves you right for ruining my challenge."

"It was a stupid challenge anyway. What happened to the old Chris who used to try and kill us in every challenge?" Trent asks.

"Just wait and see what I have in store for you next time! Anyway, let's get to voting!" The campers go off to cast their votes.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"It really should be Lindsay, she started that dumb paint fight. But at least she always votes with me. Cody on the other hand…"

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"Finally, I have a chance to get rid of Cody! This is for not helping me in the first challenge!"

* * *

Chris begins to hand out the marshmellows.

"Heather, Gwen, Trent, Noah, Justin, Owen, Izzy. And the last marshmallow goes to… Lindsay! Sorry Cody, you're outta here! Too bad you don't get to compete in my next amazing challenge!"

* * *

The Bass sit out the front of their cabin waiting to see who got voted out tonight. Duncan pulls Courtney aside for a second, feeling weirdly nervous.

"Courtney… I was just wondering… what you said earlier… with the paint… what were you going to do?"

"Oh," Courtney laughs, "I had a handful of paint hidden behind my back, I was going to rub it on your face. Too bad I didn't get the chance!"

"Ha." Duncan manages, "lucky you didn't, you wouldn't have been able to handle the consequences!"

'Yeah, right!" The Gophers appear then and Courtney runs over to Noah and starts making out with him. "I'm so glad you didn't go home!" she gushes and they walk hand in hand back to his cabin.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Okay, I feel kind of bad. I mean for a second I did think about kissing him. But I have a fiancé, who I love. I don't need to kiss Duncan, I don't even like Duncan! He's a complete idiot and besides that, he's a horrible person without a stitch of empathy. I guess the paint thing was kind of fun though. But tomorrow, it's back to business. The Bass will not lose another challenge this season!"


	8. Just Kill Me Now

**Chapter Eight – Just Kill Me Now**

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"Poor Cody! He didn't really deserve to go, it wasn't his fault the challenge was a complete dud! I hate always doing what Heather says but it's better than being voted off myself, right?"

* * *

Heather, Gwen and Courtney are gathered in front of the Gophers' cabin, having an alliance meeting.

"Well done girls, everything is going to plan," Heather says slyly.

"What plan? We haven't come up with any plans! This alliance gets by on luck." Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Should we be having an alliance meeting right here where everyone can see?" Gwen wonders nervously.

"For all they know, we're just talking. If we hid in the woods people would get suspicious!"

"Fine. Why did you call this alliance meeting anyway?" Gwen asks.

"I just wanted to make sure you girls aren't losing sight of why we're here." Heather explains.

"Why would you think we're losing sight of why we're here?" Courtney asks.

"I've been watching you two, and honestly I don't like all this flirting and fraternising."

"What flirting and fraternising?" Gwen says exasperatedly.

"You with Trent and Courtney with Duncan." Heather glares.

"As if I would flirt with Duncan! I…"

"Have a fiancé! Yes we know. You'd do well to remember it! And Gwen, don't you remember what happened with you and Trent last time? You guys are falling back into old habits and I can't let that happen!" Heather says in a concerned tone. Gwen and Courtney just shoot daggers at her.

"Fine, I won't mention it again!" Heather backs off. She sees Chris coming towards them. "Ooh, there's Chris, I need to talk to him for a minute. See you later, ladies!" she runs off in the direction of Chris.

* * *

An hour later Chris stands before the two teams with an evil grin on his face. The contestants look at each other nervously.

"So, you thought the last challenge was boring! Not enough danger for you, hey? Well you're going to love what I have in store for you today! The Killing Games!"

"The Killing Games?" Owen gulps, "I don't like the sounds of that!"

"All sixteen of you will be fighting to the death until one team is completely obliterated! A selection of weapons will be provided for you but you might have to fight for them!"  
"Killing each other?! This show has gone too far, I'm out!" Gwen says. Chris rolls his eyes.

"You won't actually be killing each other! You'll all be wearing one of these!" Chris holds up a black skin tight full body suit, including a hood, covered in weird little dots. "These little dots sense when you've been hit. If it's a kill shot the lights in the dots will go off and you're dead! And therefore out of the challenge. Whichever team manages to kill the entirety of the other team first wins invincibility!"

"This sounds a little familiar. Plagiarised any movies or books lately, Chris?" Noah says.

"Oh my god! You're right, Noah, this is kind of like The Hunger Games!" Lindsay says.

"Yeah, they wouldn't let us call it The Hunger Games. Anyway, in addition to you guys killing each other, I have set up some very dangerous booby traps! Now go get your suits on, I'll see you in the arena."

* * *

Once they are dressed in the extremely unflattering suits, the teams take their places in the "arena" which is actually just part of the forest that has a fence put up around it. The contestants are positioned like the in The Hunger Games, in a circle, facing not a cornucopia but a trash pile, with some useful weapons hidden in it. The lights on the Bass' suits are green and on the Gophers' they are red.

"Get ready!" Chris voice rings out through the arena. "5…4…3,2,1 go!" The contestants begin to run to the trash pile, to grab things they can use as weapons. Tyler immediately trips over his own feet but luckily Geoff is there to help him up, despite his broken wrist. Izzy and Duncan are the first to reach the pile, Duncan grabs a machete and swings it at Izzy. She laughs as she flips out of the way, grabbing a bow and a quiver of arrows and running off into the woods. More people are arriving by now and Duncan senses someone behind him and swings around, brandishing his machete. He hits Justin in the chest, sending him flying. The lights go out on Justin's suit and the first person is out of the challenge.

"Justin is dead!" comes Chris' voice through the loudspeakers, filling the arena. Harold is rummaging through the trash when Trent sneaks up behind him with a club. Duncan grabs Harold by the collar and takes off towards the woods before Trent can land a blow.

"Hey, I didn't get a weapon!" Harold complains as Duncan puts him on his feet.

"You almost died!" Duncan replies, still running with Harold at his heels. Duncan glances back and sees Courtney on the top of the trash pile with a spear. Owen and Noah are climbing up, trying to get at her. She spins the spear and knocks both of them out, but only Noah's lights go out. Duncan smiles to himself as he turns his attention back to where he's running. Katie runs up beside him

"I saw that," she says.

"Saw what?" Duncan narrows his eyes and shakes his head at her as they reach the tree line.

"You were smiling!" Katie accuses.

"Am I not allowed to smile?"

"Not when you look at Courtney! She's not part of our alliance! Remember where your loyalty lies!" Katherine urges. Duncan rolls his eyes. They've stopped running now and the stand puffing behind some trees.

"She's part of our team and it was a good shot, that's all it was! Although I don't know why I'm defending myself to you, you're the one who needs this alliance not me!"

"What alliance? Can I join the alliance?" Harold asks.

"No!" Duncan and Katherine chorus.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Katie is so annoying! Why did I agree to an alliance with her? She obviously thinks being in an alliance means you don't need the rest of your team to win. I'd be better off in an alliance with Harold!"

* * *

Heather, Gwen and Lindsay hide in some bushes and begin sorting through the piles of trash they grabbed earlier.

"Did you find anything good in your pile?" asks Heather, who has found a knife in her pile. Lindsay holds up a used lipstick. Heather and Gwen shake their heads in disgust.

"I found this…" Gwen holds up a mace by its wooden handle.

"Ooh, what about these?" Lindsay holds up a pair of nail scissors.

"Lindsay, is this the trash from your bathroom or something?" asks Gwen jokingly. Lindsay looks confused.

"No, I got it from that big trash pile, like you guys!" she says. Heather huffs.

"They'll have to do I guess! Let's go kill some Bass!"

* * *

Tyler and Geoff wander around the forest with a tennis racquet and a chair leg. Clearly the good weapons had been taken before they got to the trash pile.

"Did you hear that?" Tyler spins around, his tennis racquet at arms length, ready for any attackers. Geoff shrugs.

"Nah man, must be your imagination! Come on!" Geoff keeps walking, not really paying attention to anything around him. Suddenly an arrow comes flying out of the trees and hits him in the head. The lights on his suit immediately go out.

"Geoff is dead!" Chris announces. Geoff walks off sulkily in the direction of the gate. Tyler looks up through the leaves, looking for a sign of a person and where the arrow had come from. He doesn't notice Izzy slowly slide down a vine behind him until she is level with him and taps him on the shoulder. He turns around and Izzy punches him in the face then stabs him with an arrow. The lights on his suit go out and Izzy disappears into the trees.

* * *

"Four dead, twelve left! Who will win invincibility?" Courtney hears Chris announce as she walks through the forest on high alert. She hears something behind her and quickly turns, her spear aimed at the people behind her, but it's just Duncan, Harold and Katherine. Katie whispers something in Duncan's ear.

"She's on our team you idiot!" Duncan yells.

"Shh!" says Harold, but it's too late, Duncan's loud voice has alerted someone of their position and an arrow comes down and hits Duncan in the neck, turning his lights out.

"Run!" cries Courtney, turning on her heels, not bothering to see if Harold and Katie follow. They do, however, and the three of them burst into the clearing where the trash pile is. They run to the pile so that the person in the trees can't shoot at them.

"If we stay on the trash pile we'll see anyone coming from a mile away, it's an excellent vantage point." Courtney suggests. "And you guys can find some weapons," she says, noticing that neither Katherine nor Harold has anything to fight with. Courtney climbs to the very top of the pile which is a fair height, and Harold and Katie follow, looking for weapons as they go. Harold finds a sharpened stick but Katie finds nothing.

"Can't I just have your weapon, Courtney?" Katherine whines, reaching the top where Courtney is standing. Courtney looks at her in incredulity.

"Uh, no. I found this myself. Why didn't you grab Duncan's machete?"

"I was too worried about the person trying to kill me!" Katherine retorts.

"Well you'll have to find something else then!" Courtney turns her back on Katie to keep a look out for incoming foes.

"I don't think so!" whispers Katie. She shoves Courtney in the back, grabbing the spear that Courtney is holding. Courtney loses her balance and her grip on the spear and plummets to the ground where her lights flicker out.

"Courtney is dead!" booms Chris. Katie turns to face Harold who is looking at her in shock.

"You're my alliance now, Harold, I can't trust Duncan, he says he hates Courtney but he clearly doesn't hate her enough!"

"I don't think I want to be in an alliance with someone who would sabotage their own team," says Harold, backing away.

"Fine! Have it your way! She swings at Harold with the spear she took from Courtney but he blocks it with his sharpened stick. The two begin to engage in a kind of sword fight.

CONFESSIONAL: Harold

"Katie kind of scares me. She used to be really nice but something strange has happened to her and now she's even crazier than Courtney."

* * *

Heather, Gwen and Lindsay watch from the tree line.

"Oh this is just too good!" Heather smiles wickedly, "they're fighting each other! Guess we're not needed here!" They turn to head back into the forest, only to find themselves in a net hanging from a tree.

"How did we get up here?" asks Lindsay.

"This is just great!" storms Heather. They hear and explosion and try to look out to the clearing through the ropes of the net but in the position they are in, only Gwen can see.

"Oh my god!" gasps Gwen.

"What is it?" Heather asks.

"The trash pile just blew up!" The three of them gasp.

"Katherine and Harold are dead!" Chris laughs malevolently through the speakers.

"And so are you!" comes a voice from above the three girls in the net. Heather is the one to look up and see Dawn looking down on them from a tree branch.

"You wouldn't kill us!" Heather says worriedly. Dawn just pulls a pin from a grenade and flicks it into the net. She then gracefully leaps from the tree to join Bridgette on the ground and the two run off to watch the explosion from a safe distance.

"Get it out!" Heather screams.

"I can't, the gaps in the net are too small, we'd have to throw it out the top!" Gwen screams back.

"I've got…" Lindsay is cut off by the explosion of the grenade. The grenade causes the lights on all three girls' suits to go out.

"Lindsay, Heather and Gwen are dead!" Chris seems to be enjoying this more and more. "The only people left in the challenge are Owen, Trent, Izzy, Bridgette and Dawn!"

Bridgette and Dawn run through the woods laughing at their incredible genius.

"Dawn, tiny but deadly!" laughs Bridgette. They continue through the woods when all of a sudden they run into Trent and Owen, literally. Trent has a club and Owen has… a tree branch. Bridgette and Dawn have no weapons so they run in the direction they just came from, Trent and Owen chase after them. The girls see Izzy up ahead, she nocks an arrow and points it at them. They skid to a halt as Izzy fires. The arrow hits Dawn in the chest, and with one big fell swoop, Trent knocks out Bridgette with his club. The lights go out on Bridgette and Dawn's suits.

"Bridgette and Dawn are dead! Gophers win! See you at elimination, Bass!"

* * *

"I don't think it's going to be a shock to anyone who is going home tonight, so let me just get on with it!" Chris declares. "Bridgette. Dawn. Harold. Duncan." Chris throws them marshmellows. "Tyler, Courtney and Geoff. Katie your time has come. Please make your way to the dock of shame."

"Guys!" Katie cries, "what about our alliance?" she looks at Geoff and Duncan.

"Katie, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but today you tried to kill two people on your own team." Geoff says.

"And you've been trying to sabotage Bridgette for ages now!" Courtney adds.

"They all voted for you Katie! So please leave." Chris says, checking his watch as if he has somewhere else to be.

"It's Katherine!" she bursts into tears and walks down to the dock of shame alone.

CONFESSIONAL: Katie

"I can't believe it! I thought I was playing the game so well! I even had an alliance! What a bunch of backstabbing traitors! Eva was right!"


	9. Square Cut or Pear Shaped

**Chapter Nine – Square Cut or Pear Shaped**

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Thank goodness Katie's gone. Now I can stop watching my back! That girl had it out for me and I don't even know why!"

* * *

"So my boyfriend Don was all like you can have the rest of the maple syrup but only if you use it to attract the bear! So I like smothered it all over myself but then I accidentally fell asleep! Oh my god you guys, speaking of sleep, I was sleep walking last night and I totally found that diamond mine I was telling you about! You just walk towards that big mountain…" Izzy goes off on one of her rants and the other three girls in her cabin tune out.

"Does this lipstick match my outfit?" Lindsay asks Gwen. Gwen looks startled at having to have an opinion on Lindsay's make up, especially since the outfit Lindsay is referring to is just a bikini.

"It looks fine! All you're doing is going to sunbake on the dock anyway!" Heather snaps.

"Wow, rude." Lindsay says, stalking out of the cabin.

"Come on, Gwen, let's go join her." Heather decides, starting to follow Lindsay.

"My skin and sun don't really go well together," Gwen protests.

"You can sit in the shade!" Heather walks out of the cabin and Gwen relents and trails after her.

* * *

A couple of hours later Chris has the two teams assembled in front of him, as per usual for the challenge.

"Where's Izzy?" asks Trent, looking around. The rest of the Gophers frown and join him in looking around.

"That girl is insane, she'll probably turn up later riding a mountain lion or something," Justin says.

"Are you ready for today's challenge?" asks Chris enthusiastically. The campers shrug. "Wow you guys, I would have thought you'd be more excited about diamonds!"

"Diamonds? Oh my god, where?" Lindsay looks around.

"That's what you'll have to find out! Your challenge today is to find the diamond mine without any maps or clues. The first team to reach the mine, find a diamond and bring it back to me wins invincibility!" Chris announces.

"But didn't Crazy Girl say the mine collapsed? And that people died?!" Courtney stresses.

"Yep!" Chris laughs.

"Where is that girl anyway? It would be nice if she turned up on time! We could actually use her help!" Heather huffs.

"Oh yeah, about that. I'm keeping her hostage until the end of the challenge. The Gophers have one extra team member and also Izzy already knows the location of the mine, so it wouldn't be fair!" Chris declares. "Now get ready to go diamond hunting! On your marks, get set, go!"

The Bass immediately run off into the forest, not wanting to waste any time. The Gophers stand around for a second, trying to figure out where to go.

"If only we had Izzy!" says Owen.

"She was saying something about the diamond mine this morning! Why wasn't I listening?!" Gwen curses.

"She said diamond mine something something," says Lindsay.

"Real helpful, Linds," Heather rolls her eyes.

"Oh, I know, she said go towards the mountain!" Lindsay remembers.

"Is that it?" Noah says. Lindsay nods.

"Well it's the best we've got! Let's go," Trent leads the way.

* * *

"Does anyone actually have any idea where we're going?" Geoff asks his team.

"I thought it would be best if we just got away from the Gophers first," Courtney responds.

"Okay… so what do we do now?" Harold wonders.

"Well, I guess we try to think about the logical place for a mine," says Courtney.

"If I were a diamond, where would I hide?" Tyler thinks aloud.

"It can't be very close to camp or surely we would have noticed it by now," says Bridgette.

"I vote we head towards the mountain, that's pretty much the centre of the island. We should split up into pairs so we take up a greater width. I doubt the mine is going to be on the trail," Duncan proposes.

"That's actually a really good idea," says Courtney, surprised. Duncan shrugs.

"I occasionally have them," he says dryly.

"Okay, everyone partner up. Bridgette! Be my partner?" Courtney quickly makes herself unavailable. Bridgette agrees. Geoff and Duncan partner up and Dawn and Harold go together and Tyler volunteers to go alone. The others look at him uneasily, thinking about his usual clumsiness.

"I'll be fine! We'll cover more ground than if I go in a three with one of you guys." The other concede and allow him to go alone.

"There's one problem with this plan. We all have to reach the mine, so how will we signal each other that we've found it?" Courtney asks.

"We'll just yell really loudly," says Duncan. Courtney rolls her eyes but agrees to the plan and they set off in their pairs towards the centre of the island.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I quickly grabbed Bridgette as my partner because I did NOT want to be stuck with Duncan. He's being way too nice and it's creeping me out. Plus I feel weird when I'm around him, like everything's kinda fuzzy. I do not like it!"

* * *

Trent leads the Gophers through the forest towards the mountain, followed by Owen and Noah, then Justin, with Heather, Gwen and Lindsay bringing up the rear.

"If we can win this challenge, the Bass will be two players down and we'll definitely have the advantage. The next person on their team to go needs to be Duncan or Geoff." Heather is saying to Gwen and Lindsay.

"It's not like we have a say in who they vote off," Gwen reminds her.

"But we're in an alliance with Courtney, remember?"

"We are?" Lindsay asks.

"Yes!"

"Since when is Lindsay part of our alliance?" Gwen asks.

"Since always! Lindsay is a very loyal friend. Well, she is now that we're both super famous."

"Guys, I'm right here!" Lindsay says. Gwen and Heather ignore her.

"Does Courtney know about this?" Gwen inquires. Heather shrugs. "I didn't think so." Gwen rolls her eyes and walks faster, to join Trent up the front.

"What, so you're on her side now?" Heather calls after her. Gwen pretends not to hear.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"I don't think Courtney would take too kindly to being the only person from the Bass in our alliance. Obviously with three against one, as soon as it got to the final four Courtney would be the first to go, regardless what Heather said about us going to the final three together. And despite all that Courtney and I had to go through to be where we are now in our friendship, I think we really are friends now, and I want to look out for her. I just knew we couldn't trust Heather!"

* * *

"We've really got to win this challenge. We really shouldn't have lost last time, although I can't say I was sad to see Katie go," Courtney says to Bridgette as the scour the ground for any signs of an abandoned mine.

"She was horrible! Didn't she used to be nice? I feel like something snapped inside her or something." Bridgette agrees.

"I know right! I think Eva was saying things to her about you. Eva was totally insane." Courtney and Bridgette laugh. "I wonder how the others are doing," Courtney changes the subject.

"Probably much the same as us, since we haven't heard any yelling," Bridgette points out.

"The yelling thing was a really dumb idea! The Gophers will probably hear and come running. That's the last thing we need!"

"Yeah but if we lose at least we can vote of Geoff," says Bridgette.

"I was thinking we should vote off Duncan next." Courtney counters.

"Please Courtney, every time I look at him it's like I want to burst into tears or something!"

"Because you hate him so much?" Courtney asks. Bridgette shakes her head.

"That is so not why. I don't hate him at all, that's the problem!"

"You're still in love with him?" Courtney says, astonished. "But didn't he do something like really awful to you, like cheat on you with a flight attendant from India?" Bridgette shakes her head.

"Please don't tell anyone. I need everyone to think I'm over him, okay?" she pleads.

"I understand completely! So if he didn't do something really awful, why did you guys break up?" Courtney asks.

"You'll think it's stupid," Bridgette says.

"No I won't! Come on, you need to get it off your chest!" Bridgette eyes Courtney doubtfully.

"Fine," she relents, "the truth is, I wanted to get married and he said he could never marry me. That's it."

"He actually said that? What a jerk! Did he give a reason?"

"Just said he wasn't the marrying type. Which is so the opposite of what he told me when we were on Total Drama Action. I guess he just changed his mind. He seems to be fine without me though." Bridgette says sadly.

"Okay, we'll vote him off next then." Courtney agrees, trying to be a good friend.

* * *

Gwen and Trent still lead the Gophers in the direction of the mountain, but they've seen no sign of the mine so far. Trent looks back at the rest of his team who all look sick and tired of trudging through the woods. Justin has fallen to the back but he is still visible to those at the front. Heather keeps shooting Gwen dirty looks whenever she turns around, and Owen is complaining to Noah about how hungry he is while Noah complains about how sick of walking he is. Trent shakes his head as he turns his attention back to the path ahead of him.

"What a sad looking bunch of people, huh?" Trent says to Gwen. Gwen looks around and receives another dirty look from Heather.

"What did you do to her anyway?" Trent laughs.

"Just refused to be manipulated by her, you know, the usual," Gwen replies with a smile.

"Thank god for that, you had me worried there for a while. I thought maybe you'd gone over to the dark side."

CONFESSIONAL: Trent

"I really like Gwen, obviously. Things didn't work out for us last time, but I feel like this time, maybe they could. We're both older and wiser now."

* * *

"You know, I thought maybe I'd do anything to win the money this time, but it turns out I can't." Gwen says in response to Trent's comment about the dark side.

"So you came on here purely for the money?" Trent asks.

"Pretty much. I mean I guess I was interested in seeing what had become of everyone, but it was mostly the money. Isn't that why you're here?" Trent shakes his head.

"There was some people I wanted to see. One person in particular actually." Trent looks at Gwen, indicating he means her.

"Me? Why me?"

"I just looked back and I realised how stupid the reasons for us breaking up were. I still really care about you, and I guess I wanted to know if you felt the same." Gwen is silent. "Obviously I don't expect us to just pick up where we left off, I mean that was ten years ago, or you know be madly in love or anything, but I thought, if we start here, take it slow… I don't know. Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, now things will be weird between us." Trent curses himself.

CONFESSIONAL: Trent

"I think I came on too strong. Maybe I should have waited longer. I don't know, it seemed like a good moment!"

* * *

Gwen stays silent for a moment, unsure how to respond to best show how she feels. Eventually after and agonising minute for the both of them, she decides to say nothing, she simply slips her hand into his and they continue walking. Only now, they both have big ridiculous grins on their faces.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"So first Gwen decides that Lindsay shouldn't be in our alliance, and now she's holding hands with Trent? That's it! She is so out of the alliance!"

* * *

"So what's up with you and Courtney, man?" Geoff asks Duncan.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Duncan retorts. Geoff raises one eyebrow at him.

"Uh, you could, but the answer would be nothing because I've barely spoken to Courtney this entire time. Seriously though, you keep looking at her and smiling. And I can tell you're thinking about her right now, because you're smiling!"

"I am not smiling! And obviously I'm thinking about her, because we're talking about her! I hate Courtney."

"Uh huh, sure." Geoff says disbelievingly.

"Let's talk about something else please! Like what about your love life?" Duncan says forcefully.

"I don't have a love life, man. You know that."

"How would I know that? We haven't talked since… your twenty second birthday…"

"Let's not talk about that."

"Seriously though, you should and try and get her back. I know you're still in love with her."

"She wants to get married, man! You know I can't marry her."

"Well, if you just …"

"Don't you think I've tried everything? Let's just drop it okay?" Geoff cuts Duncan off before he can say things he's told himself a million times before.

"Fine, I'll never mention Bridgette again, so long as you never mention Courtney again."

"Fine." Geoff says shortly, and the two guys walk in silence from then on.

* * *

"Okay, I'm just going to sit here, you guys call me when you've found the mine!" Noah sits on a boulder.

"Noah! Come on! This is a team effort!" Trent calls back.

"I'm with Noah!" says Owen. "I mean, I agree with him! I'm not like _with _him." Owen giggles nervously, tapping his index fingers together. Noah just rolls his eyes.

"I agree with Fatty and Nerdy," says Justin. "You guys can find the mine and we'll catch up once you've found it."

"That will just waste time! You three are coming with us and that's final!" Heather storms, grabbing Noah by the collar and dragging him along. "Unless, you three would like to join an alliance with me?" she says suggestively, stopping and turning to the three boys, while Gwen, Trent and Lindsay continue walking. Noah and Owen look at each other and then nod to Heather. Justin shrugs in agreement.

"Great! If we lose, I'll let you know who's leaving!" she runs after the other three, leaving the boys behind. "They just need a bit of a rest," she says to Trent, "I'll run back and get them when we find the mine." Heather smiles. Gwen looks at her suspiciously.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"So I was just walking along, looking for a mine, when suddenly I fell into this huge hole!"

* * *

"Help! Help!" Tyler cries. He's at the bottom of a very dark pit and he's a bit sore from the fall, but he doesn't think he's broken anything.

"Did you hear that?" says Harold to Dawn. Dawn nods.

"I think it was Tyler, it sounds like he's in trouble!" Harold and Dawn immediately run in the direction of Tyler's voice. When they get there, Courtney and Bridgette are already looking down a hole at Tyler, and Duncan and Geoff are also running towards the hole.

"Is he alright?" asks Dawn. Bridgette nods.

"I knew we shouldn't have let him go on his own!" Courtney says in hindsight.

"We need to get him out of there," says Harold.

"Obviously. But we don't have any rope or anything!" says Courtney.

"Tyler can you see anything down there?" Geoff calls.

"No! It's completely dark!" Tyler calls back.

"I'm going to throw you a lighter, try and catch it!" Duncan lets Tyler know, and he tosses the lighter down into the hole. They hear it hit the ground and they all groan.

"Don't worry I found it!" Tyler yells up, after a second of fumbling around in the dark. He flicks the lighter on. It doesn't give off much light but it's enough to see what's directly in front of his face, and that is cave walls covered in little diamonds. There's also a cart obviously left over from when someone actually mined here.

"You guys, do you know what this is?" Tyler calls.

"What?" he hears Harold yell back.

"It's a diamond mine!" The rest of his team gasp. Tyler walks forward to the mine cart and peers in. It's full of diamonds that have already been mined. Tyler grabs a handful and puts it in his pocket then walks back to the opening where he fell in. "I've got some diamonds, now how do I get out of here?"

"The girls are getting a vine, they'll be back in a second," Geoff shouts. The girls bring a long vine back and tie it to a nearby tree, then lower it into the hole. Tyler grabs on and his team pulls him up. They race back to camp and make it back before the Gophers have even found the mine. Tyler hands over the ugliest diamond to Chris.

"The Bass win!" Chris announces through the loudspeakers. "Gophers, see you at elimination!"

Tyler carefully examines the diamonds he brought back, putting the prettiest one into his pocket and handing out the rest to his teammates.

"I'm going to buy a rocketship with this!" says Harold.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"It's definitely Heather's time to go. I told her if there was one sign of treachery she was out of here and I mean to keep my word. Trent will vote with me, I know. I think I can get the others to as well. Everyone hates Heather."

* * *

Heather addresses Owen, Lindsay, Noah, Justin and Izzy, who has been returned to them, since the challenge is over.

"So if she agrees to this plan, we vote for Trent. If she doesn't we vote for her. I'll go and get her." Heather leaves the girls cabin for a moment and then returns with Gwen.

"Gwen, today you totally broke the rules of the alliance. As a consequence we are all going to vote you off."

"What?! But guys, why would you do what Heather says?"

"You were doing what she said until today," Lindsay points out. Gwen slumps on one of the beds.

"I'm not ready to go yet!" Gwen cries, thinking of Trent, and of the money. She knows she can win it this time if she can make it past the merge.

"I thought you might say that. And we are prepared to vote for Trent, as long as you prove to us that your faith is restored in the alliance and you won't cross me again."

"Trent? But…"

"It's either you or Trent." Heather cuts Gwen off dramatically. Gwen sighs.

"Fine, what do I have to do?"

"You have to vote for yourself." Heather says proudly.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"Vote for myself?! This sounds oddly familiar. I bet anything Courtney came up with this idea. And I thought we were friends again! And I feel really bad about Trent but I really need the money. I hope he doesn't hate me, because things were finally starting to become good between us!"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"What a brilliant plan! Now she'll think that it was Courtney's idea for her to vote for herself, because of what Gwen made her do in All Stars, and she'll hate Courtney for it. I can keep Courtney and Gwen on my side and I'll also have Lindsay. I told Trent the same thing as I told Gwen, only we are actually voting for Trent. People are so easy to manipulate!"

* * *

Chris stares at the Gophers dramatically, holding his plate of marshmallows. He then starts handing them out.

"Izzy! Owen, Noah, Justin. Lindsay. Heather." Gwen looks at Trent sadly and he looks at her in despair. "And the last marshmallow goes to…. Me! Because this is a double elimination! Whoops, sorry forgot to mention that!" Gwen and Trent look at each other in surprise, realising what must have happened. Everyone voted for Trent except Gwen who voted for herself. Neither of them feel that horrified or even disappointed. Gwen walks over to Trent and takes his hand and they both smile.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Gwen says and she leads Trent down to the dock of shame. "When we get home, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

"I'd love to meet him!" Trent says. They get on the boat and Trent pulls Gwen in for a kiss, and they sail off romantically into the distance.


	10. Don't Tempt Me!

**Chapter Ten – Don't Tempt Me!**

Bridgette sits under the dock, looking out toward the lake, when she hears footsteps and voices coming towards her. They stop almost directly above her.

"Seriously, Chris! Just a few hours! I don't think you understand how important this is!" Heather says.

"Like I told you before, you're not leaving this island for any reason, unless you don't want to come back." Chris responds.

"And I told you, if something goes wrong, it will be your head on the chopping block because I can afford very good lawyers!" Heather stamps her foot.

"Look, Heather, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them!" Chris shrugs.

"You do make the rules! I know you do, so stop giving me that bull crap and let me go!"

"No." Chris starts to walk off.

"We are not finished with this!" Heather calls after him, before sitting down on the dock and bursting into tears. Bridgette quietly removes herself from the area, making sure Heather doesn't notice she overheard the whole thing.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"That thing I overheard between Heather and Chris was so weird. I wonder why Heather needs to leave the island. It must be pretty bad if she was crying about it. I don't think I've ever seen Heather cry."

* * *

"It's challenge time!" Chris proclaims. He is standing next to a plane which actually looks like a pretty nice plane. "Today's challenge is simple really. All you have to do is resist temptation. This plane will be leaving for civilisation at exactly one o'clock. Waiting there will be a sale," he looks at Lindsay, "a totally rockin' party," he looks at Geoff, "with an all you can eat buffet," he eyes Owen and smiles. "There will be Noah's favourite author Donald Goodman-Williamson," Chris continues.

"Oh, that's my boyfriend!" Izzy says.

"Your boyfriend is Donald Goodman-Williamson?" Noah asks incredulously.

"Yeah, his next book is going to be about the time we…"

"Not now Izzy!" Chris interrupts. "As I was saying! DGW will be there to sign books and also to make-out with his girlfriend if she so wishes to join him there. He plans to take her lion taming. Harold's idol Steve Stevenson will be there and he has an award to give Harold. And last but not least Alejandro will be there to take a certain person to a certain appointment." Chris raises his eyebrows at Heather. "If Lindsay, Geoff, Owen, Noah, Izzy, Harold and Heather don't get on the plane, they will have successfully resisted temptation and their team will get a point for each person who resists."

"What about the rest of us?" Courtney asks.

"Well you and Tyler are not allowed to go anywhere near your fiancés," says Chris.

"Lindsay and I are not engaged!" Tyler says angrily.

"So all I have to do is not see Noah for the day and I get a point?" Courtney asks sceptically. Chris nods.

"Dawn and Bridgette have to go and sit on the dock and look out at the lake. They'll know their temptation when they see it! Justin, there is a full length mirror being put in your cabin. Don't look in it all day and you'll get double points for your team, since the Gophers have fewer competitors. Duncan, you have to resist being arrested by these two cops!" Two cops get out of the plane.

"What? But that's not temptation! I don't want to be arrested!"

"That should make it easier then!"

"But I didn't do anything wrong! I am not going back to prison!" Duncan protests.

"Don't worry they won't take you to prison. Off you go guys!" Chris says to the cops and they chase after Duncan who turns and runs away. Dawn and Bridgette head to the dock to await their temptation, and Courtney and Tyler go to the Bass' cabin to get away from Noah and Lindsay. Chris leaves the others to decide whether or not they will get on the plane.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Great! Just great! I really need to go to that appointment, and Chris is making a game out of it? I hate that guy!"

CONFESSIONAL: Dawn

"I'm kind of worried about what mine and Bridgette's temptation is going to be. Everyone else knows theirs…"

* * *

Heather, Lindsay, Noah, Owen and Izzy stand by the plane, discussing if they should go or not.

"There's plenty of food here Owen! You don't need to go!" Heather orders.

"Not an all you can eat buffet though! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"We can't all go and that's a fact. I need to go, it's a matter of life and death!"

"Oh my god, do you like have a life threatening illness or something, 'cause my cousin did once and it was like the worst thing ever but luckily I was able to give a bone marrow transplant and saved her life!" Izzy says.

"No I don't have a life threatening illness!"

"Heather, it isn't very fair of you to say we can't go if you get to go. I really want to go to that sale!" Lindsay points out.

"The only person on our team whose temptation doesn't involve getting on this plane is Justin. If we all go, we'll lose."

"I'll stay!" says Izzy. "I've already been lion taming so I don't really need to do that and Don won't mind. Noah, I can introduce you to Don some other time if you like?" Izzy says, sounding weirdly normal for once.

"Uh, okay, thanks Izzy?" Noah responds. The rest of them continue to argue over who should stay and who should get to go.

* * *

Dawn and Bridgette sit on the dock, nervously awaiting their temptation, when Chef glides by on a fishing boat.

"What is he doing?" asks Bridgette curiously. Chef pulls out a harpoon.

"Oh no!" cries Dawn, as she sees some dolphins swimming nearby. "Surely, he can't mean to kill them?"

"He wouldn't…" Bridgette says hesitantly. Chef aims the harpoon at one of the dolphins.

"No!" Dawn and Bridgette scream, standing up. Chef looks up at them.

"You wanna save 'em, you gotta swim out here and get 'em," he calls. Dawn and Bridgette look at each other and immediately dive into the lake to save the dolphins.

* * *

Courtney and Tyler sit in the boy's part of the Bass' cabin.

"I miss Lindsay," says Tyler sadly.

"You saw her literally ten minutes ago," Courtney says incredulously.

"Yeah but it feels like much longer! Thanks for agreeing to help me stay away from her by the way."

"No problem. I wish we were in the girl's dorm though…" Courtney says, looking around at the messy floor.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Tyler is an idiot, but he's actually not that bad. He pretty much won us the last challenge so I'm grateful for that. I just hope I can keep him away from Lindsay long enough to win this one too."

* * *

"Maybe we should do something to take your mind off her," Courtney suggests.

"Like what?" asks Tyler.

"We could… play a game?"

"What kind of game?" Tyler asks, intrigued. Courtney shakes her head, thinking how this is kind of like keeping a child occupied. She looks around the room for an idea.

"A game where every time you pick something up from off the floor and put it in its correct place, you get a point and whoever gets the most points wins!" Surprisingly Tyler agrees to this game and they begin to clean the cabin.

* * *

Duncan is hiding in a tree while the cops look around the forest for him.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I got the stupidest temptation. Cops chasing me? Real funny Chris. Obviously it was not a great idea to blow up Chris' cottage, but I was a dumb kid. I did a lot of dumb things."

* * *

The cops look up the tree and spot Duncan sitting up there.

"Aw crap," Duncan says as they begin to climb the tree. Once they're halfway up he jumps down and runs away.

* * *

As one o'clock approaches, the people whose temptation lies outside the island gather around the plane. Heather, Lindsay, Owen and Harold all get on the plane, while Izzy, Noah and Geoff resist temptation and stay on the island. Chef gets into the pilot seat and Chris shakes his head in disappointment at those who choose to get on the plane.

"So far the Gophers have two points and the Bass have one! Dawn, Bridgette, Harold, Heather, Lindsay and Owen have all been unable to resist their temptation. Duncan, Tyler, Courtney and Justin still have a chance to resist." Chris announces.

* * *

Courtney looks over at Tyler to see how he is going with the "game". He has made a big pile of dirty clothes on one of the beds.

"Uh, Tyler, that is not how this game works!" Courtney scolds.

"Sorry. Lindsay will be on the plane right now. I wish I was with her." Tyler sighs.

"At least you can't see her while she's off the island. The worst part will be the hour between when she gets back and when the challenge ends." Courtney reasons. Just then Duncan bursts into the room.

"Hide me!" he whispers frantically. Tyler and Courtney look at him in surprise before Courtney grabs him and pushes him onto an empty bed. She then starts grabbing the dirty clothes that Tyler had piled up and covering Duncan with them. Tyler gets the idea immediately and helps her. Duncan protests for a second but Courtney just glares at him till he shuts up. The two cops burst into the cabin and Courtney and Tyler spin around and sit on the bed, causing Duncan to groan in pain. Courtney elbows him to shut him up.

"Where's the criminal?" asks one of the cops.

"Who?" asks Courtney.

"The punk. Duncan," says the other cop.

"I haven't seen him sorry!" Courtney says with a smile.

"Me either!" Tyler agrees.

"Don't give me that, we just saw him run in here!" the first cop narrows her eyes and shakes her head slightly, as if to say 'I'm not stupid!'

"You must be mistaken," says Courtney pleasantly.

"What are you sitting on?" the second cop asks.

"A bed." Tyler says.

"What's on the bed?"

"We are!" Tyler says like it's obvious. The cops huff in frustration.

"On the bed, under you!"

"Ohhh that. That's a pile of dirty clothes." Tyler smiles and nods as if he finally understands what the cops are on about.

"Ma'am, sir, please step aside," the cops start to get businesslike. Tyler and Courtney stand up with their arms folded.

"I don't think so." Courtney says.

"Don't make us use force!"

"Don't make _us _use force!" Courtney repeats. The cops advance and Courtney high kicks the female one in the chest. Tyler punches the guy one and before long the four of them are engaged in a brawl on the floor of the guys' dormitory. Courtney finally gets the female cop pinned beneath her and she looks her in the eye.

"Duncan isn't here so you better leave and not come back!" the cop nods in fear. Tyler has the male cops arm twisted around his back and he twists it harder until he agrees to leave as well. Tyler and Courtney let them go and the cops hurry out of the cabin. Duncan sits up and clothes go flying everywhere.

"That was so hot." He says to Courtney. She frowns at him in disapproval. "Good teamwork guys!" Duncan high fives Tyler and goes to high five Courtney but she refuses. He shrugs. "What are we doing now?"

"Cleaning up this mess!" Courtney demands.

* * *

Justin stands outside the washrooms debating whether or not to go in. It has been a long time since he's been able to look at his fabulous body in a full length mirror.

CONFESSIONAL: Justin

"This is like a really tough challenge for me. Who knows when I will get to look at myself in a full length mirror again? I could be on this island for weeks! The other people on my team got to go do what they wanted, so why shouldn't I?"

* * *

Justin finally gives in and goes into the bathroom where his full length mirror is waiting.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff!" Justin says as he flexes his muscles.

CONFESSIONAL: Lindsay

"When Heather got back from her appointment she was really happy and nice. It was so strange!"

* * *

Heather, Lindsay, Owen and Harold get off the plane at 4 o'clock and are greeted by Chris, Noah, Izzy, Geoff, Bridgette and Dawn.

"Hello losers!" says Chris.

"Hey Chris!" says Heather.

"Good news then, huh?" Chris asks her. She nods happily. The other look at each other in confusion.

"Just so you guys know, the Gophers are on two points and Justin did not resist temptation. The Bass are on one point, with Tyler, Courtney and Duncan having an hour left to resist their temptations. If two of them manage to resist, the Bass win!" Chris informs the group.

"Justin was worth double points! This is not a great development…" says Owen, who is extremely glad to be back on land after the plane ride.

"It's not surprising though, that guy thinks of nothing but himself." Noah says.

"It is unfortunate, but we can still win guys! Think positive!" says Heather.

"What happened to you?" Noah asks.

"Nothing, I'm just in a good mood!" Heather shrugs.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"I'm guessing Heather's "appointment" was a few hours alone in a hotel room with Alejandro, if you know what I mean. Why else would she be so happy?"

* * *

"I heard the plane land!" Tyler says, standing up.

"What are you doing?! We still have an hour before we're allowed to see them. You have to stay here!" Courtney reprimands.

"But I need to see her!"

"No, you don't! I haven't seen Noah and I'm perfectly fine."

"Well obviously you don't love Noah as much as I love Lindsay!" Tyler pouts. Duncan laughs.

"He's mean when he misses Lindsay!" Duncan says, still laughing. Courtney throws a pillow at him.

"It's only an hour! Come on!" Courtney turns her attention back to Tyler. Tyler goes to run out of the cabin but Duncan grabs him and holds him down.

"You're not going anywhere!"

* * *

An hour later Courtney, Tyler and Duncan come out of the cabin and their team cheers for them.

"The Bass win again!" Chris announces.

* * *

At the campfire ceremony Chris hands out the marshmallows.

"Noah, Izzy, Lindsay, Owen aaaaaand…Heather! Sorry Justin, please head down to the dock of shame!"

"What? This is ridiculous! How come I'm the one going home?"

"Because no one likes you and you cost our team two points today!" Heather has returned to her usual self, obviously her mood had dropped when they'd lost the challenge.

"Ugh, whatever! You haven't seen the last of Justin! Now goodbye, forever!"


	11. Canoe-dling

**Chapter Eleven – Canoe-dling**

The remaining contestants sit in the dining hall picking at their breakfasts, some quietly chatting and some staring at nothing in silence. They're almost half way through the season and it's starting to take its toll on the players, they all feel tired and some of them are kind of homesick.

"I'm too old for this," Noah says, dropping his head onto the table. Courtney looks over from where she is sitting at the Bass' table.

"Are you okay baby?" she calls over to him. Noah nods against the table and Owen puts his thumb up at Courtney, in case she didn't get the message. Duncan stands up.

"Would you like me to take that for you?" he asks, gesturing to Courtney's half eaten breakfast. She frowns at him in confusion as she still can't get over how ridiculously nice he has been lately.

"Sure, thanks…" she says suspiciously.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Seriously, why is Duncan being so nice? He must be up to something. I'm going to figure out what it is!"

* * *

Harold holds up his finished breakfast for Duncan to take also but Duncan ignores him.

"Gosh!" says Harold.

"I'll take it." Courtney says. She grabs Harold's plate and Dawn's and follows Duncan over to the servery just as he tucks a mug into his pocket.

"Seriously?" she says. "What are you doing?" Duncan shrugs. "Why did you steal that mug?"

"I need it to match my other one." he says with a grin. Courtney raises her eyebrows as Duncan walks away.

* * *

"Where's Chris, dude?" Geoff asks Chef Hatchett who stands before them, ready to give them the day's challenge.

"He's sick of you lot and he's left me in charge so I've come up with today's challenge!" says Chef.

"Oh great! Chef's challenges are even worse than Chris's!" Noah rolls his eyes.

"Shush your mouth, small fry! Now today your challenge is to build your own canoe with stuff from that pile of junk," Chef points at a pile which contains a lot of wood but also a lot of what looks like useless rubbish. "Then you have to carry your canoe up the mountain. Once you are at the top you must row your canoe down the river and into the lake. You do not have to wait for your team members before you go on to any part of the challenge but the first team with all the members across the finish line wins invincibility!"

"Canoes, original." Noah says sarcastically.

"I'm warning you!" Chef points at Noah aggressively. "Now go get started on those canoes!" Chef folds his arms and the campers scramble to get bits and pieces to build their canoes.

* * *

"A canoe is a boat, right?" Lindsay asks, holding up two pieces of wood.

"Yes! Now get building!" Heather demands as she starts building her own canoe.

"Once I built a canoe out of fur because I needed to get away from these guys who wanted to deport me when I was in China, and all I had was a fur coat! It was totally crazy!" Izzy says excitedly.

"Uh, Owen, I don't know if that canoe is going to be wide enough for you…" says Noah looking at the tiny canoe Owen is building.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Owen says. Noah looks surprised.

"Uh, no, just that your canoe is small. I'll help you." Noah leaves his own canoe to help Owen. Heather looks around to make eye contact with someone on her team to share a look of confusion about Noah and Owen but finds the remaining members of her team really aren't worth her time or effort. She looks up and catches Courtney's eye and gestures to Noah and Owen as if to say, "What's up with them?" Courtney smiles and shrugs and goes back to her canoe. Heather shakes her head with a smile and does the same.

"How are you nearly finished your canoe already, man?" Geoff asks Harold who has built a canoe in record time.

"My girlfriend Lisa is a canoe specialist so she taught me all there is to know about canoes. Plus I'm just a really fast builder." Harold says proudly.

"What the hell is a canoe specialist? Harold you really do come out with some ridiculous statements!" Courtney says scathingly.

"Gosh, Courtney!" Harold finishes his canoe and takes off up the mountain, leaving his both his teammates and the other team staring after him in astonishment. Duncan is the next to finish his canoe, closely followed by Lindsay.

Geoff and Courtney finish at almost exactly the same time and begin racing up the mountain, Heather is only a few seconds behind them, and racing behind her is Tyler, followed by Izzy.

Noah and Owen build their canoes together and once both of them are done they follow the other up the mountain. Once Bridgette has finished hers she helps Dawn quickly put the finishing touches on hers before the both head up the mountain as well.

Dawn and Bridgette overtake Owen and Noah with no trouble at all and suddenly the Bass are winning. Tyler catches up to Heather and she frowns as he overtakes her, and then Courtney and Geoff as well. She glances back and sees Owen and Noah trailing behind, getting further and further away, and Dawn and Bridgette seem to be getting closer, though it could just be her imagination. She grunts in frustration.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"We've lost two challenges in a row, and we have two less members than the Bass! We _need _to win this one. I did what I had to do."

* * *

Heather gives herself a burst of speed and manages to catch up to Courtney and Geoff.

"Hey guys," she puffs from her exertion.

"What do you want, Heather?" Geoff asks.

"Not much, I just want to win!" and with that she gives Courtney a hard shove, sending her to the ground. Courtney drops her canoe as she falls, which also crashes to the ground and unfortunately one end breaks off.

"No!" cries Courtney desperately. Heather laughs and runs off up the mountain. Geoff stops to help Courtney. "Thanks, Geoff, but you go on, I'll be fine, I'll fix it in no time! Owen and Noah are so slow, it'll be easy to beat them." She smiles bravely. Geoff nods and leaves her. Dawn and Bridgette offer their services as they pass but Courtney sends them on their way.

"Sucks to be you!" says Noah as he and Owen walk past her.

CONFESSIONAL: Owen

"I tried to run the whole way but it was just too hard! So Noah suggested we alternate running and walking. I thought it would make us lose the challenge, but Courtney's canoe was ruined. Courtney is a horrible person so I didn't feel that sorry for her. She kinda scares me though so don't tell her I said that!"

* * *

"Some fiancé you are!" Courtney yells after Noah. He just laughs. Courtney sighs in frustration as she realises she'll have to go back down to the bottom of the mountain to get something to fix her canoe.

* * *

Harold reaches the river first, as he had an immense lead because of his superior canoe building skills. He puts his canoe in the water carefully and gets out the oars he built before gently lowering himself into the canoe. He paddles away from the edge as Duncan reaches the river bank and Tyler and Lindsay run up behind him, holding hands. Tyler helps Lindsay get into her canoe and gives her a push away from the edge. She blows him a kiss as she paddles away. Duncan watches in horror.

"Uh, Tyler, I don't know if you've realised, but we are trying to win a race here! Helping the other team is not conducive to winning!" Duncan scolds. Tyler raises his eyebrows.

"You sound like Courtney!" he says as he gets into his canoe and starts paddling away.

"I do not!" Duncan calls after him before getting into his own canoe and paddling after him.

* * *

Courtney finally arrives back at her canoe with superglue and begins the repairs on the plywood canoe.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Heather is such a horrible person! If we lose because of this, she is going down! I had to fix my canoe with superglue. I figured it would dry by the time I got to the top of the mountain and I was right!"

* * *

Heather reaches the river with Geoff not far behind so she quickly jumps in her canoe and paddles away. Geoff does the same and Izzy runs up and in one swift movement she is in the canoe and paddling with her hands, as she doesn't seem to have built oars.

CONFESSIONAL: Izzy

"I have like super big hands which are actually the exact right shape to be able to paddle through water, so what would I need oars for?"

* * *

Geoff shakes off his awe at Izzy's entrance to the water and begins paddling. It isn't long till he spots Duncan on the side of the river, soaking wet, his canoe floating in pieces in the water just near him.

"What happened dude?" Geoff calls.

"Crashed into some rocks!" Duncan calls back. Geoff starts to paddle over to Duncan to give him a lift, but Duncan shakes his head. "I'll wait for whoever's last! We'll be faster with two people." Geoff shrugs.

"Okay man, but I think it might be Courtney. Heather totally knocked her over and broke her canoe!" Geoff continues down the river.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I didn't see the sharp rocks and I tried to be clever and do a cool trick in the canoe but it didn't quite work out… so I'm waiting for Courtney's canoe. This could either go really well or really horrible…"

* * *

Dawn and Bridgette reach the river next and help each other into their canoes and paddle away together. Noah and Owen are a fair way behind but they finally reach the river and manage to get into their canoes without incident. The two boys are well away by the time Courtney finally reaches the river. She's frustrated with herself and Heather for putting her in this position. She's paddles as hard as she can, certain she can overtake Noah and Owen in her canoe. She's so focussed on winning she almost rows right past Duncan on the river bank.

"Courtney!" he calls out. She whips her head around, startled.

"What are you doing?" she yells at him.

"My canoe broke, are you the last one?" She nods. "Come and get me." She huffs in annoyance but knows if she leaves him her team will definitely lose so she steers her canoe to the edge of the river. Duncan clambers in behind her, sitting right up against her. His clothes are still all wet and it makes her shiver.

"Is that really necessary?" she says.

"What? It's a small canoe!" he grins and she rolls her eyes.

"Ugh, just row will you?"

* * *

Harold's massive lead gets him across the finish line before anyone else, and the others are all miles behind. Chef greets him at the finish line.

"Well done camper, you crossed the line first. Now you just gotta hope your team is right behind you!" Chef slaps him on the back and Harold nearly falls over. The rest of his team isn't right behind him however, and Lindsay is the next person to cross the finish line, although Tyler isn't far behind her.

"Well done babe!" Tyler runs to Lindsay and they start making out.

"Two Bass and one Gopher." Chef announces.

* * *

"Duncan, will you row how I tell you to row, please!" Courtney says angrily.

"I am! God, woman." Duncan rolls his eyes.

"Don't call me woman!" Courtney elbows him.

"Fine. Princess." Duncan smirks. Courtney just rolls her eyes and huffs in irritation. She spots Noah and Owen just up ahead and her spirits brighten.

"Look, we've nearly caught up! Just be careful as we go over these rapids, okay? Do exactly as I say and we'll be ahead of them in no time." Courtney says authoritatively.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Okay I think there is a reasonably clear path over to the left. We've got to enter exactly straight or we might capsize, got it?" she has to shout over the rush of the water.

"Got it!" The two of them paddle the canoe over to the left side of the rapids.

"Okay good, now straighten up. Straighten up!" she cries, frantically paddling to get the canoe straight.

"I'm trying!" But it's too late, they enter the rapids and the canoe turns completely sideways, leaving them prey to whatever the river has in store for them. One end of the canoe gets stuck on a rock, but before Duncan can reach back and try to get it unstuck, the end tears off. Duncan and Courtney hurtle through the rapids in their canoe and capsize at the bottom, the canoe shattered into pieces.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"If Duncan listened and we didn't get stuck on those dumb rapids, the superglue would have worked just fine!"

* * *

"Three Gophers, three Bass!" Chef announces as Heather, Geoff and Izzy cross the finish line. "That leaves two Gophers and four Bass to cross."

"Where's Duncan?" Tyler asks. "I thought he was right behind me!"

"He wrecked his canoe man; he's waiting for Courtney to pick him up in her canoe. Don't worry I reckon those two can easily overtake Noah and Owen!" Geoff says reassuringly as Tyler and Harold exchange worried glances.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Duncan asks as he and Courtney climb onto the river bank.

"Are you kidding me? No I am not okay! I'm soaking wet, my canoe is beyond repair, we're miles behind the rest of our team, we're going to lose the challenge, and it's all your fault!" Courtney rages as she walks up the river bank, trying to wring out her top.

"My fault? How is it my fault?" Duncan asks, following her into the trees.

"If you had just listened to me, we would've gone straight down the rapids and we'd be on the home stretch by now!" she follows the river downstream, heading back to camp. "This is so typical! Everything is going great and then you just have to ruin in somehow!"

"Everything was not going great, we were losing!" Duncan counters.

"Maybe you thought so, but I didn't! You could have given me some warning! Or at least apologised for your stupid actions. I could've been seriously hurt and you acted like you didn't even care, you stupid jerk!" Courtney is still walking along through the trees, with Duncan behind her.

"Are we still talking about the canoes?" Duncan asks in confusion. Courtney lets out a cry of frustration but doesn't reply. "Seriously Courtney, what is this really about?"

"Nothing, alright! Just leave me alone!" she starts walking faster but Duncan does too.

"Courtney, just stop walking for one second and talk to me for god's sake!" Duncan demands. Courtney stops and spins around and Duncan almost crashes into her. The gel holding in his mohawk clearly can't stand being drenched twice and his black hair is flopping onto his face.

"What do you want from me, Duncan?" Courtney says.

"I don't want anything _from_ you," Duncan practically whispers. Courtney looks at him for a moment, as if deciding what best to say next, before she turns away to keep walking.

"Good, I'm glad we got that sorted," she says matter-of-factly, but with a slight quiver in her voice as if she had been hoping for a different answer. Duncan grabs her arm to stop her from walking away and spins her back towards him.

"I don't want anything from you, but I do want you," he says before pulling her into him and kissing her. He lets go of her arm and puts his hands around her waist and she puts her arms around his neck and pulls him closer, kissing him with all the passion she'd been saving up for him for ten years. Duncan reaches up with his left hand to hold her hand, their fingers intertwining, which alerts them both to the big shiny rock on Courtney's finger. They break the kiss and Duncan steps back.

"Duncan…" Courtney chokes out, but she's not sure what she's trying to say.

"I'm sorry," Duncan says quietly. "I'm really, really sorry." He drops her hands then and walks off in the direction of camp, leaving Courtney standing dumbstruck in the forest. After a minute she follows him but doesn't bother trying to catch up.

* * *

It's almost dark by the time they get back and everyone else has already crossed the finish line. Duncan is just ahead of Courtney, but it's obvious to everyone that they've been together. Courtney glances at Noah but he doesn't seem to notice anything wrong.

"And the remaining members of the Bass finally make it back. Gophers win. Bass see you at the campfire ceremony. Well, Chris will. I'm going to bed." Chef says before leaving the campers to it. The Gophers walk back to their cabin feeling satisfied with themselves.

"What happened to you guys?" Bridgette asks. Both Courtney and Duncan shrug and the rest of their team share looks of bewilderment and suspicion.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I'm not really sure what happened… all I know is it can't happen again! Duncan has got to go tonight! I just… what was he apologising for? The kiss? Ruining the canoes? Or…everything else?"

* * *

"Please Bridgette, we have got to vote Duncan off tonight!" Courtney begs.

"Not unless you tell me what happened! You told me we would vote off Geoff next!" Bridgette reminds her of the promise she made during the diamond mine challenge.

"That was before… well just before. I can't be on this island another minute with him." Courtney says nervously.

"Maybe you should be the one to leave then." Bridgette stalks out of their cabin, followed by Dawn.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Typical Courtney, she can be a great friend until she needs something and then it's all about her. She promised me we would vote off Geoff next, and now she's reneged on her word and she won't even give me a proper reason. Honestly, I wouldn't be sad to see her go at this stage."

* * *

"So it's Courtney then? Agreed?" Geoff asks the boys. Harold and Tyler nod and Duncan shrugs.

"Come on man, you said yourself she's a crazy bitch. And she lost us this challenge!" Geoff reasons.

"I'm the one who broke two canoes! Plus, I think maybe she's kinda changed." Duncan says.

"People don't just change Duncan, you're seeing what you want to see." Harold says wisely. "It's better if she goes home."

"Then you can move on dude," says Geoff. Harold nods.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"I didn't say anything 'cause those guys usually think things I say are dumb, but honestly I think if Duncan hasn't moved on in ten years, I doubt he's ever going to." He shrugs. "That's just my opinion though."

* * *

Chris stands before them at the campfire ceremony.

"I have six marshmallows in my hands. There are seven of you. Only six campers will move on in the hopes of becoming Total Drama's Next Top Millionaire." Chris says. The Bass look at him in confusion. Chris pouts. "The network wouldn't let me do my modelling show either! Anyway, if I call your name you're safe, if I don't you must immediately head down to the dock of shame. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. And you can't come back. Ever. Geoff." He throws Geoff a marshmallow. "Dawn, Tyler, Bridgette. Duncan." One marshmallow remains on the plate that Chris holds. "And the tenth person to be voted out of Total Drama Ten-Years-Later is…"

Courtney puts her head in her hands, waiting for her name to be called, to be told she's leaving Total Drama yet again, and yet again it would be Duncan's fault. She curses him in her mind.

"Harold!" says Chris. Courtney looks up in surprise. The rest of the team looks confused too, especially Harold. Duncan however has a smirk on his face. Courtney looks at him questioningly. He just shrugs.

"Gosh, this can't be right! We all voted for Courtney!" Harold protests.

"Sorry Harold, I just count the votes! Now please leave." Chris says with a frown. Harold sighs and hangs his head and plods down to the dock of shame and boards the boat of losers to leave the island.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

He smirks. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."


	12. Positively Medieval

**Note- Thanks for the lovely reviews on the last chapter! I was kind of nervous about that chapter because I don't think I'm that great at writing romantic type scenes, so I'm glad you all liked it! Hope you enjoy this one too!**

**Chapter Twelve – Positively Medieval**

It's the night of the elimination after the canoe challenge and Harold has been sent home. Most of the campers are in their cabins asleep, except for Heather who can't sleep because Izzy is snoring too loudly. She heads outside for some peace and quiet when she hears voices coming from between the two cabins.

"I just can't do this anymore, Noah." Heather recognises Courtney's voice.

"What do you mean you can't do this?" says Noah.

"Just take this. I don't want it."

"Well neither do I! Who else would I ever want to give it to?"

"I don't know…"

"Is this about Duncan?" Noah asks.

"No- I…"

"Look Courtney, you made a promise to me, and I expect you to keep it! You can't leave me alone in this! Do I need to remind you about the contract you signed?"

"Of course not! It was my idea after all." Courtney says, sounding offended that he would doubt her memory.

"You're a lawyer. You made the contract so it's gotta be pretty good. I don't want out, but you do. The consequences for that have got to be pretty severe, right?" Noah sounds almost threatening.

"Fine. We'll stay engaged." Heather decides she's heard enough then, and quietly tiptoes back inside.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"What kind of weird and creepy engagement is this where they have to sign contracts and consequences are severe if they break it? Courtney must have been really worried he'd leave her." She laughs. "Like he could do better! Oh, wait that wasn't meant to sound like a compliment to Courtney… I just meant Noah is really… oh forget it!"

* * *

The campers wake up the sound of a trumpet being played rather badly.

"What is that horrible noise?" asks Lindsay, covering her ears with her hands.

"I don't know but I wish it would SHUT UP!" Heather puts her head under her pillow.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Get up and get dressed campers, we have a fun filled day of challenges ahead of us!" Chris announces through the loudspeakers. Everyone groans and gets out of bed, where they notice they all have costumes hanging on the end of the bed.

"We don't have to wear these do we?" Noah says to Owen. Chris pokes his head in the door.

"Yes, you do!" he says before going back outside. Ten minutes later the campers are dressed and standing before a pavilion where Chef, who is holding a trumpet, and Chris who is dressed as a King are sitting. The campers themselves are dressed in the costumes that Chris has picked out for them. The boys are wearing armour and the girls are wearing medieval style dresses.

"Why do the boys get to wear armour and we have to wear these dresses?" Bridgette complains, looking down at the massive sleeves on her royal blue dress that almost trail on the ground.

"Trust me, you do not want to be wearing this!" says Owen, sweating.

"Today we are having a tournament in honour of the King! Me!" Chris gestures to himself. "There will be jousting! There will be bear fighting! And there will be poetry!"

"Poetry? Lame!" says Duncan.

"Just for that, you can be the one on your team who has to write the poetry!" Chris says. Duncan scowls. "But first we will have the jousting! Owen versus… Tyler! Mount your horses! Squires, bring the lances!" Chris commands in a horrible English accent. Everyone waits for someone to bring the lances. "Chef, that's you!" Chris whispers. Chef sighs and goes and get the lances.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"This is bad because I have no idea how to ride a horse!"

* * *

"I said mount your horses!" Chris demands like a child, as Chef comes back with the lances. Tyler and Owen both look at their horses in trepidation.

"Oh for god's sake!" Courtney marches over to Tyler and practically throws him onto the horse.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I really should have been the one to do the jousting, since I actually know how to ride a horse! I'll just have to make do with sharing my wisdom with Tyler."

* * *

As Courtney whispers to Tyler what he should do whilst on the horse, it takes the whole team of Gophers to get Owen onto the horse.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I feel extremely sorry for that horse, I thought Owen was going to break its back!"

CONFESSIONAL: Izzy

"One time I thought I went back in time because I was at the castle and there were all these knights and stuff but it turns out it was just a dress up party."

* * *

"Alright knights, take your places." Chris calls from the pavilion. Chef starts blowing the trumpet again. Courtney leads Tyler's horse to one end of the field while Owen's horse slowly plods to the other end. "Any ladies want to give either of these fine gentlemen their favour?"

"What's a favour?" asks Lindsay.

"Never mind! The first knight to knock the other to the ground wins a point for their team! On your marks get set, go!"

Owen and Tyler hold out their lances and Tyler, following Courtney's advice, gallops at full speed towards Owen. Owen's horse won't go very fast and just walks towards Tyler. Tyler hits Owen with his lance and promptly falls off his own horse.

"One point to the Gophers!" Chris declares. The Bass all shake their heads at Tyler's failure but none of them are particularly surprised.

* * *

"Part two of today's challenge is poetry writing! Duncan and Noah will be writing poetry about how much you love the King. You have fifteen minutes." Chris announces.

"How is that fair? Noah's an English Professor and I'm a… unemployed person!" Duncan protests.

"Clearly! You mean _an _unemployed person, not _a _unemployed person." Noah rolls his eyes. Duncan folds his arms and glares at Noah.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Man I hate that guy!"

* * *

"Just get writing!" Chris demands. The boys take quills, parchment and ink from Chef and start writing.

"Hey Bridgette, can I talk to you for a minute?" Courtney whispers to Bridgette.

"What do you want, Courtney?" Bridgette asks snappily.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation. I don't want you to be mad at me." Courtney responds. Bridgette sighs and nods and Courtney leads her away from the rest of the group.

"I'm sorry I didn't vote for Geoff yesterday… it's just that… while we were up on the mountain, after our canoes broke, something happened between me and Duncan." Courtney explains.

"Really? What?" asks Bridgette, forgetting she is mad at Courtney.

"He kissed me." Courtney waits for the scolding of how much of a hypocrite she is but then she remembers this is Bridgette, not Gwen, and Bridgette is one of the least judgmental people she knows.

"Wow," is all Bridgette says.

"Yeah, so I just wanted to get rid of him, because I felt really guilty, and because it can't happen again!"

"Do you think it will happen again?" Bridgette asks, intrigued.

"No!" Courtney says immediately, but then, "I don't know! Ugh."

"Do you want it to happen again?"

"Of course not, I am engaged!" Courtney says defensively, but Bridgette sees right through her and raises her eyebrows. "It doesn't matter. I promise I'll vote for Geoff this time," Courtney changes the subject. Bridgette nods.

"Okay! Fifteen minutes is up!" calls Chris. "Duncan, please read your poem." Duncan clears his throat.

"There once a man who was king, he wore a lot of bling. His challenges are fun, he is number one. King Chris something something." Duncan reads. Everyone just stares at him. He shrugs. "What? I don't do poetry!"

"Uh huh. Noah, please read yours." Chris says, clearly unimpressed.

"Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art most lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And Summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines…"

"This sounds familiar…" Bridgette interrupts.

"That's because it was written by Shakespeare!" Courtney says angrily. "Chris, Noah didn't write that, it's Sonnet #18 by Shakespeare!"

"Shut up, I'm enjoying it!" Chris hushes them. Courtney glares at him. Noah finishes the poem and Chris claps and wipes a tear from his eye.

"Gophers win this round!" Chris announces.

"This is so unfair! Noah just plagiarised Shakespeare!" Courtney objects.

"Two-nothing to the Gophers. Bass, you better lift your game!" Chris ignores Courtney's complaints.

"Ugh!" Courtney huffs.

* * *

"The next part of the challenge is bear fighting! Heather and Bridgette you will fight a bear and the person who kills it wins a point for their team!"

"What? I can't kill a bear!" Bridgette says frantically.

"Sure you can! It's not that hard!" Chris reassures her.

"No, I mean, it's against my beliefs! Bears are living creatures, it's wrong to kill them at all, let alone for some kind of stupid challenge. I won't do it!" Bridgette stands her ground.

"Are you saying you forfeit the challenge?" Chris asks. Bridgette nods certainly.

"Fine, another point to the Screaming Gophers. That's three points to the Gophers and nothing to the Bass. You'd wanna hope you win the next two challenges or you'll be facing elimination! I guess we'll move on to part four! Ointment making! Courtney and Lindsay, you must create an elixir using these herbs and other various… things, to cure Chef's warts!" says Chris.

"You can't cure warts! They're a fungus, not a disease!" Courtney points out.

"Whatever! You have to get rid of the warts. These books about herb lore should help you!" Chris hands the girls a book each, both of which are falling apart.

The girls get to work, lighting small fires under little cauldrons and putting their ingredients in.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"According to the book sage gets rid of warts so I just boiled some up and put some honey in it to make it taste better."

CONFESSIONAL: Lindsay

"I put in all the things that smelled the nicest!"

* * *

The girls finish their potions and hand them over to Chef.

"This one smells like perfume," Chef says about Lindsay's elixir. He drinks it down and immediately starts coughing. "Tastes like it too!" he chokes. Once he has recovered he drinks Courtney's potion. "Goes down easy." He states. He looks at his warts but they are still there.

"Okay, we knew the warts wouldn't actually go away, but since Courtney actually read the book and put the right thing in, I guess she wins this round," says Chris, almost sounding disappointed. "Gophers are on three points, Bass on one. Now for part five of the challenge we will have archery! Dawn and Geoff, you're up for the Bass and Izzy, you're up for the Gophers."

"This challenge is so rigged!" Duncan complains, thinking of Izzy's archery skills in The Killing Games challenge. The rest of his team agrees with him.

"Get over it!" Heather gives her hair a flick.

"You each get one arrow, which means one chance to get a bullseye. Geoff and Dawn will get one point each for their bullseyes and Izzy will get two since there's only one of her. Izzy, you start!"

Izzy picks up her first arrow and immediately gets a bullseye. Geoff struggles to use his bow in all his armour and it takes him a while to get it into position.

"There's something weird going on with Noah and Courtney," Heather whispers to Lindsay, losing interest in the challenge.

"Really? What's so weird about them?" Lindsay asks.

"I overheard them last night and I think Courtney wanted to break up with him but he wasn't having any of it."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Lindsay says.

"Uh, no it isn't! It's weird and creepy! I've got to find out what's going on with them!" Heather says more to herself than to Lindsay.

"Totally!" Lindsay agrees.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I don't know why I confided in Lindsay, I knew she wouldn't be any help. It was just so weird and I had to share it with someone. Seriously, it's so obvious that Courtney is still in love with Duncan, so why is she with that loser Noah?"

* * *

Geoff finally gets his bow and arrow into position and draws the string back, hitting the target in the bullseye.

"Yes!" he celebrates and Tyler gives him a high five. Geoff turns his attention to Dawn. "You can do this Dawn, just pull back the string, aim, and… fire!" Dawn follows his instructions but her arrow falls short of the target. The Bass look at each other in disappointment.

"Gophers win! Bass, see you at the campfire ceremony." Chris flings his cape around his shoulders and walks off, followed by Chef who is playing the trumpet again.

* * *

"So it's agreed, we vote for Geoff?" Bridgette says. Courtney and Dawn nod.

"Agreed!" says Courtney, all too eager to be friends with Bridgette again.

"Okay, great! I think the boys will probably vote for you sorry Courtney, but even if it comes to a tiebreaker I think you can beat Geoff." Bridgette reassures. Courtney bites her lip worriedly, but she nods, still agreeing to the plan.

CONFESSIONAL: Dawn

"I'm kind of tired of the girls always deciding who we vote for. I think the boys are right to vote for Courtney. She may have been the only one to score a point today the merge will be coming up and she is a player I don't want to go up against."

* * *

"I say we vote Courtney, man. Like we did last time." Geoff says to the boys.

"No way, let's get rid of Bridgette," says Duncan.

"Why? Do you honestly think something is going to happen with you and Courtney? She's nothing but a liar and she's crazy! Don't trust her man!" Geoff warns.

"Why can't we get rid of Bridgette? You don't want her anymore and she forfeited the challenge! We don't need that kind of crap!" Duncan counters.

"How about we just vote for Dawn?" Tyler suggests.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"To be honest, I've kind of been avoiding Duncan since what happened yesterday. But I think it's time I talked to him, I can't go on like this."

* * *

As the Bass walk over to the campfire ceremony Courtney grabs Duncan's arm and takes him away from the rest of the group.

"Duncan…" Courtney begins. Duncan folds his arms in an intimidating way and waits for her to continue. She can't read his expression at all and it puts her on edge. "What happened yesterday… I… it can't happen again, okay? I'm with Noah. I don't want to be that person." She explains. Duncan looks at her with the same expression on his face that Courtney can't read… is there a hint of a smile there? "Are you laughing at me?" Courtney demands. Duncan shakes his head and his smirk becomes more prominent. "You are!" she gives him a shove and he grabs her hands and leans in close.

"You may have everyone else fooled, but I've got you figured out. I know you want me. I'm willing to wait until you figure it out yourself and dump that idiot Noah." He whispers. Their faces are incredibly close and he still has her hands in his and she thinks for a moment he's going to kiss her again. But instead he drops her hands and walks away, once again leaving her dumbfounded. She eventually finds voice and she shouts after him.

"You are so wrong! I hate your guts! Noah is twice the man you'll ever be!" Duncan just laughs and she stomps after him over to the campfire ceremony where Chris is waiting with the marshmallows. Bridgette raises her eyebrows at Courtney as she sits down but Courtney shoots her a look that says "later."

"Finally!" Chris says exasperatedly. "Now that the princess has arrived we can start the ceremony!" he says sarcastically. "Tyler!" Chris throws Tyler a marshmallow. "Duncan! Bridgette! Geoff and… Courtney!"

"Huh?" says Dawn, bewildered. "Did you guys vote for me?" Dawn asks the girls. Courtney and Bridgette shake their heads. The guys won't meet her eyes. Dawn shrugs.

"Well, I guess this means I finally get to see Scott again," says Dawn as she gets up and heads towards the dock.

"Wait, what? Who's Scott?" Courtney asks.

"My boyfriend. I think you know him!" Dawn smiles.

"_Scott _Scott?" Courtney asks incredulously. Dawn nods. "How am I just finding out about this now? I dated that guy!" Courtney says. Dawn shrugs.

"You never asked." She says simply before leaving Courtney standing dumbfounded for the third time in two days.


	13. I Present You With a Merge

**Chapter Thirteen – I Present You With a Merge**

Chris follows the Bass back to their cabin after the campfire ceremony.

"Chris, what are you doing?" asks Tyler.

"I have an announcement to make, wait here!" Chris then goes into the Gophers cabin and comes out with Heather, Izzy, Lindsay, Owen and Noah. The Gophers study the other team to see has been voted out.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"So they got rid of Dawn. I find that very interesting, especially when more than half those people claim to hate each other!"

* * *

Once the Gophers are standing outside the cabin Chris makes his announcement.

"Campers, you're over halfway through the competition. There's an equal number of Bass and Gophers and an equal number of men and women. So that's why I've decided it's time for the merge! Boys, you are to reside in the Bass' old cabin and girls in the Gophers'! See you tomorrow!" Chris says and then walks away. Courtney and Bridgette and Noah and Owen grab their things from their old cabins and head over to their new one.

CONFESSIONAL: Owen

"It's so weird being in a cabin with the other guys. It's been just Noah and I for ages, now we have to share with Duncan, Tyler and Geoff. This will not be fun."

* * *

Once they are settled into their new cabins the girls get ready and go to bed, feeling exhausted from the days challenge, except for Izzy apparently.

"Oh my god you guys, this is so exciting! This is the first time I have made it to the merge without being voted off! We should play a game to celebrate!" Izzy says excitedly.

"No thanks Izzy, I'm kind of tired," says Bridgette.

"But you guys it's like seven pm!" Izzy says, jumping on her bed.

"I'd like to play a game, Izzy!" says Lindsay. "What are we going to play?"

"Okay, well one time this girl taught me this cool game when we were climbing Mount Everest and all you have to do is one person has to go outside then one person has to be blindfolded and one person has to stay completely still. When I say go, the blindfolded person has to grab the really still person and carry them outside and give them to the person standing outside who then has to kiss them! It's super fun!" Izzy explains.

"That does sound fun!" says Lindsay.

"Uh, no it doesn't!" says Heather.

"How did you play that whilst climbing Mount Everest?" Courtney asks disdainfully.

"It sounds kind of dangerous…" says Bridgette.

"Okay well fine, you guys come up with a game!" Izzy pouts.

"We could play truth or dare!" Lindsay suggests.

"I don't know if you guys realise, but we're twenty-six, don't you think we're a little old for truth or dare?" asks Courtney. Lindsay shakes her head and Bridgette shrugs.

"No way!" says Izzy, "I love truth or dare, this one time…"

"I think it's an excellent idea!" Heather cuts Izzy off.

"You do?" Courtney asks incredulously.

"Yes! This is how it will work! We each get to ask a question and EVERYONE has to answer it truthfully, even the person who asked." Heather says.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"This was actually a good idea from Lindsay, though I doubt she realises it. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what's going on with Noah and Courtney!"

* * *

"Who wants to go first?" Heather asks.

"Ooh, me, me!" says Izzy.

"I'm not playing!" says Courtney, turning over in her bunk so she's facing the wall.

"Aw, come on Courtney, it's just a bit of fun!" says Bridgette. Courtney rolls her eyes but sits up.

"Fine!"

"Great! I'll go first!" says Heather. Izzy looks disappointed. "If you were engaged, what kind of contracts would you make your fiancé sign?" Heather asks, looking directly and Courtney. Courtney frowns at her. Heather smiles.

"Oh, oh, I would make him sign something that said that if he ever leaves me I would be allowed to hunt him down and kill him!" Izzy answers. The other girls stare at her in horror. Izzy laughs. "I'm just kidding! I wouldn't make him sign anything."

"I wouldn't either!" Lindsay agrees. Heather looks to Courtney.

"You guys are so dumb! Obviously I'd get him to sign a pre-nuptial, one that I wrote up myself of course and if he didn't agree to it then there's just no way we could be married!"

"So you made Noah sign a pre-nup?" Heather asks. Courtney narrows her eyes.

"You only get one question, Heather!" she snaps.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I don't know what Heather thinks she knows. That question was a little startling though, why is she asking?"

* * *

"I agree with Courtney, I guess," says Bridgette.

"Ugh, me too! This game is so stupid." Heather says lying back on her bed.

"This is so much fun! I've never had a sleepover with just girls before!" says Izzy, "Do I get to ask my question now?"

"Sure, Izzy," says Bridgette.

"Okay, so like, who was the first person you ever had sex with? For me it was this chick I met while I was in Ireland…"

"You lost your virginity to a girl?" Bridgette asks, surprised.

"Totally! Her name was Rachel!"

"Uh huh… well I guess it's no surprise to you all that mine was Geoff." Bridgette says.

"Tyler was my first!" Lindsay says.

"Really? I thought you would have had sex way before then!" Bridgette says.

"Uhh no…? What are you saying?" Lindsay asks.

"Nothing! Heather, who was yours?" Heather rolls her eyes.

"Alejandro, duh! What about you Courtney?" she turns to the other girls and mouths '_Duncan_' with a smirk, so that Courtney can't see it.

"Oh just this guy at law school. His name was Kevin."

"Wait, what?" says Heather.

"What about Duncan?" asks Lindsay.

"Uh, Duncan and I never had sex." Courtney says.

"Yeah, right!" Heather rolls her eyes.

"What? It's the truth."

"We'll just see about that!" Heather gets up and starts to head out of the cabin.

"Where are you going?!" Courtney demands.

"To ask Duncan!"

"You can't do that!" Courtney shrieks.

"Why? Afraid he'll tell us the truth?" Heather smirks and leaves the cabin. Bridgette, Izzy and Lindsay stand up and follow her out. "You guys!" Courtney calls after them, "What about Noah?! Ugh!" she flops back down on the bed.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"The game was getting boring, so I thought I'd liven it up a little!"

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Obviously Courtney's lying! As if she didn't sleep with him between Total Drama Action and Total Drama World Tour! Unless that's why he got with Gwen…"

* * *

"Hey boys!" Heather says flirtatiously as she enters their cabin. "Noah, Courtney wants to see you!" Noah, Tyler and Owen are all in their beds while Geoff and Duncan are sitting on the floor playing cards.

"What does she want?" Noah asks. Heather shrugs. Noah sighs and leaves the cabin.

"Did you really need a whole posse to come over here and tell him that? Why didn't Courtney just come herself?" Duncan asks.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Heather says pointedly, and then she huffs exasperatedly. "That was just to get rid of him! We're really here to ask you something!"

"Well what is it?" Duncan asks.

"Did you and Courtney ever have sex?" Heather gets straight to the point.

"Well, yeah. Tonnes of times." Duncan answers. Tyler and Geoff whistle and Owen giggles. Duncan rolls his eyes at their immaturity.

"Ha! I knew it! She is such a liar!" Heather says victoriously.

"Wait, she told you we didn't?" Duncan says, taken aback. Heather and the other girls nod.

"Oh my god you guys! This is just like the time…"

"Shut up Izzy!" says Heather. "So tell us about it!"

"Um, what?" says Duncan.

"Tell us about the first time you and Courtney had sex!"

"Do I have to?" Duncan asks.

"Yes!" Heather demands, before taking a seat on Noah's empty bed. Bridgette sits and Izzy sit next to her while Lindsay gets into bed with Tyler.

"Hey Bridgette, remember that time you and I were at that mini golf course and we went into the bathroom…" Geoff starts, but trails off when he sees Bridgette shooting daggers at him. "Never mind!"

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"How dare Geoff try to reminisce with me, like everything is okay? What a jerk!"

* * *

"God Geoff, just let Duncan speak!" snaps Heather. Even the boys look like they want to hear this interesting bedtime story. Duncan sighs.

"Fine. It was the night of the Total Drama Action finale, and I had just lost the million to Beth and we decided to go out and get something to eat, but she had pen ink all over her face and didn't want to go out like that so I took her back to my house so she could shower, and when she came out she just had a towel wrapped around her and her hair was all wet and she looked really sexy so I kind of just grabbed her and well yeah… you know how it goes after that…" Duncan trails off.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I would have told them more, but I know it's going to get back to Courtney and I have a feeling she wouldn't be too pleased at me talking about our sex life…"

* * *

"Uh, no we don't know how it goes, we weren't there! More detail please!" Heather commands.

"Heather, what the hell is wrong with you?" Duncan asks. Just then Noah bursts in.

"More like what the hell is wrong with you, Duncan!" Noah says.

"What?" Duncan shrugs.

"I just overheard your conversation! That's my fiancé you're talking about!" Everyone is surprised to see Noah actually caring about something for once.

"So what?" says Duncan.

"Stay away from her, okay?" Noah warns.

"Oh sure, what are you going to do to me if I don't?" Duncan scoffs, giving Geoff a look that says 'what could this pipsqueak do to me?'

Noah flies at Duncan, knocking the wind out of him, and starts punching him.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Wow, this is turning out really well!"

* * *

Noah's surprise attack gave him an advantage over Duncan for a second but it isn't long till Duncan is on top of Noah and beating him to a pulp. The door opens then and Courtney is standing in the doorway. Duncan immediately looks up and stops punching, which give Noah the chance to give Duncan a great punch in the eye.

"Argh!" Duncan cries.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Courtney says, rushing over to them.

"Yeah, I'm fine," says Duncan.

"Not you!" Courtney glares at Duncan. She helps Noah up and, putting her arm around him, leads him out of the cabin. Duncan stares after them, stunned. After they're gone he gets up and goes towards the door, punching it in frustration as he walks out, heading in the opposite direction to Noah and Courtney. The others sit in awkward silence for a moment before the girls decide it's probably best they go back to their own cabin before Duncan gets back.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Noah is such an idiot! Like he can force me to do anything! It's time to step up my game. This means war, pal!"

* * *

The next morning the contestants stand before Chris and he surveys them interestedly. Noah and Duncan are standing on opposite ends of the line, Duncan has a black eye and Noah has several bruises and a split lip. Courtney is standing next to Noah, looking unimpressed. Bridgette is next to Courtney, looking nervous. Geoff is next to Duncan and has his arms folded. Lindsay and Tyler are holding hands and giggling, oblivious to the tension around them and Heather look altogether far too pleased.

"Okay, I don't know what happened last night but it must have been interesting!" says Chris. Heather nods happily. Chris frowns at her in disapproval.

CONFESSIONAL: Chris

"I'm the only one who's supposed to be enjoying the drama around here!"

* * *

"Let's get on with today's challenge! Since we have these expensive enjoyment machines that we've only used once, we decided we better get some use out of them! So today you will pick another person to make a gift for, and if they like their gift the most, the person who gave it to them will win invincibility!" Chris announces.

"Another remanent of your failed dating show?" says Noah. Chris ignores him.

"You can use anything you like, and we have provided some things that may assist you in making a gift. Good luck!"

Tyler quickly grabs some things from the materials provided and runs off into his cabin.

"What's with him?" Duncan asks Geoff as he grabs a hunk of wood. Geoff shrugs.

"Who should I make a gift for?" Geoff asks.

"I don't know… Bridgette?" Duncan suggests.

"No way man! I don't want her to get the wrong idea…" Geoff shakes his head.

"How about…" Duncan looks around at the group of people "Izzy?" his eyes settle on the insane girl who is currently sniffing each item she picks up from the pile of materials. Geoff cringes but then decides to go with it.

* * *

"Hey Bridgette, what are you making?" Izzy asks.

"I'm making a hat made of poison ivy for Geoff," says Bridgette, donning some rubber gloves.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"It was Courtney's idea. I was really mad about Geoff being nice earlier so she suggested this great gift for him. To show him how I really feel."

* * *

"Oh my god, that is such a great idea!" says Izzy to Bridgette. "You know who would look great in a hat? Owen! I'm totally going to make one for him!"

"Wow, do you really hate Owen?" Bridgette asks, surprised.

"Of course not! Why would I make him a present if I hated him!" Izzy runs of to find some poison ivy. Bridgette shakes her head in concern.

"I think that girl might actually be insane," she says to Courtney. Courtney nods as she continues writing what looks like a novel. "Who's that for?" Bridgette asks.

"Noah, of course!" Courtney responds without looking up.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"So I thought to myself, what is something that someone on this island loves? And the answer was obvious. Duncan loves Mohawks!"

* * *

"Chef, can I use the kitchen?" Owen asks. Chef is standing in the door of the kitchen looking foreboding. "It's for my present for Noah!" Owen grins nervously. Chef finally concedes and lets Owen inside.

Meanwhile Lindsay is having trouble deciding what to make for Tyler.

"Should I make him some clothes?" she asks Heather. Heather shrugs.

"Why don't you make him something out of these sticks?" Heather throws a bundle of sticks at Lindsay. Lindsay catches them and nods approvingly.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"So obviously I'm making something for Courtney since she's my fiancé or whatever. But I can't remember what her favourite colour is… is it blue?"

* * *

Once everyone has finished making their gifts Chris lines them up and puts an enjoyment machine sensor on each of their pinky fingers, like in the date challenge.

"Okay, Bridgette, you can go first. Who is your gift for?" says Chris.

"Geoff," says Bridgette, stepping forward. Geoff gulps and gives a look of unease to Duncan. "Here Geoff, it's a hat. I won't tell you what it's made of, you'll find out when you put it on."

"Uh thanks…" says Geoff. He doesn't take the hat so Bridgette throws it at him. He quickly ducks so it flies over his head.

"So Bridgette gets a zero!" says Chris, consulting his enjoyment machine. "Next we'll have Izzy!" Izzy prances over to Owen with the hat she's made out of poison ivy.

"I made you the same thing Bridgette made Geoff! Isn't it great?" Izzy gushes. Owen nods nervously.

"Thanks, Izzy." He takes the hat but quickly drops it once Izzy isn't looking.

"Another zero! Wow, you guys are good at this!" says Chris sarcastically. "Heather, why don't you give your gift now?" Heather walks over to Duncan with a handmade wig styled as a mohawk made from straws and grass. She puts it on Duncan's head. He raises his eyebrows but she gets a smirk from him.

"Okay apparently the weird mohawk thing was actually kind of successful? In comparison to the others anyway. Heather gets a five."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"What? It was kinda funny! Who knew Heather had a sense of humour?"

* * *

"Now we'll have Courtney and Noah exchange their gifts for each other." Says Chris. Courtney gives Noah a handwritten book of stories about her life. Noah gives Courtney a blue papier mache ball.

"Wow thanks Courtney, how thoughtful," says Noah, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, blue my favourite colour…" says Courtney stiffly.

"You are both terrible liars and both score a two!" Chris grins.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Honestly, what was he thinking? And how could he not love my book of stories!"

* * *

"Uhh… let's have Geoff next." Chris gestures for Geoff to step forward.

"Izzy I made you a mixtape… featuring songs such as Crazy, Crazy in Love, Crazy Kids and other songs with crazy in the title." Geoff hands over the mixtape.

"Oh my god, Geoff, wow! I love it!" Izzy says.

"Seems like she actually does! Geoff gets an eight!" Duncan gives Geoff a high five. "Owen would you like to go next?" Owen looks at his feet and taps his fingers together.

"Well… I made Noah a cake… but I kinda ate it…" says Owen sheepishly.

"Oh well, it's the thought that counts…" says Noah, patting Owen on the back.

"Not according to this machine! Owen gets zero! Who's next… Duncan?" Duncan steps forward.

"Courtney, catch!" he says, and tosses something small and round towards her. She quickly catches it. She looks down at her hands to see a carving of a skull. She almost smiles before remembering that she should hate it.

"Ugh, I already have one of these!" Courtney rolls her eyes, referring to the skull he had given to her on her elimination from TotalDramaIsland

"Really? So you still have it?" asks Duncan.

"Ugh…no…" Courtney says, quite unconvincingly.

"Whether you do or not, you obviously wanted another one, Duncan scores a seven!" Chris declares. Duncan smirks and Courtney huffs.

"Who's left?" Chris asks. "Lindsay and Tyler! Would you please exchange gifts." Chris instructs.

"You go first," says Tyler. He has a kind of nervous quality about him.

"Okay!" Lindsay presents him with a doll made of sticks. He stares at it for a second and then smiles.

"Thanks babe, I love it!" he says. Chris looks at his enjoyment machine and raises his eyebrows.

"Wow he actually does? Lindsay gets a seven… okay Tyler would you please present Lindsay with your gift." Chris says. Tyler clears his throat nervously.

"Lindsay. I want you to know that I'm not just doing this for the challenge. I've wanted to do this for a while but I wanted to wait until the right moment." He begins. "Lindsay, I love you so much," he gets down on one knee, "will you marry me?" He holds out his hands and in his fingers he holds a ring made from what look like wire and some kind of shiny stone.

"Oh my god! Yes of course" Lindsay throws her arms around him and kisses him and he stands up and puts the ring on her finger.

"I'm sorry it's not silver or gold. But the diamond is real, I got it from the diamond mine in the challenge. We can get it cut if you want, we'll take it to a jeweller…" Lindsay kisses him to stop him from talking.

"I love it. I don't want to change it." She says.

"She's not lying! Tyler gets a ten and wins invincibility!" Chris pronounces.

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"How are we supposed to compete with that?"

* * *

On the way to the campfire ceremony Heather notices Noah and Courtney whispering to each other so she slows down to listen.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I have to say, I heard something very interesting. I'll be keeping that to myself until I can use it against them. Anyway on to who to eliminate tonight, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, boyfriend-girlfriend is just another word for alliance! An engagement is even worse. We're at the merge now and I need to start thinking more strategically. Lindsay is not a solid investment as an alliance partner, because I know she would dump me for Tyler in an instant! Courtney on the other hand, well her relationship with Noah is on the rocks to say the least. I could definitely use her.

Courtney walks away from Noah and promptly crashes into Heather.

"Hey Courtney!" says Heather enthusiastically.

"Heather… what can I do for you?" Courtney says. The two start walking towards the campfire.

"Look, I know our last alliance didn't work out that well, but I think this time it can! I want to get rid of Lindsay."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I just overheard what you were saying to Noah, and if you don't agree to an alliance with me, and get whoever else you can to vote for Lindsay as well, I will tell everyone!" Courtney looks stunned.

"Heather…" Courtney starts.

"Promise me!" Heather demands.

"Fine! But I still don't trust you!"

"That's probably a wise decision."

* * *

"Well, let's get on with it!" says Chris when the campers arrive after placing their votes. "Tyler, you're safe, obviously. Heather, Courtney, Geoff, Duncan." He throws out marshmallows. "Noah, Owen, Bridgette and… Izzy!"

"What? No!" cries Tyler. "I'll take her place!"

"It's okay Tyler, now I can get to planning the wedding! I'm so excited!" she gives him a kiss. "I love you!"

"I love you too, babe!" Tyler picks her up and carries her to the dock of shame and places her on the boat. They make out over the edge of the boat until it pulls away from the dock and Tyler falls into the lake.


	14. No Man is an Island

**Note- Hey guys hope you're enjoying this story! If you love Duncney, Aleheather, Gidgette and/or Pride and Prejudice you should check out my sister's fanfic it is really funny and cute, it's a Total Drama/Pride and Prejudice fanfic. It's called Pride and Drama and her fanfic username is AshaLeah14! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Chapter Fourteen – No Man is an Island**

The campers are woken in the morning by the sound of a helicopter and immediately notice something very odd. They are not in their cabins, but lying in the dirt in a clearing in the middle of a forest somewhere.

"Good morning campers!" says Chris cheerfully as he gets out of the helicopter. "Welcome to Peaceful Island! For today's challenge you will have to somehow make it off PeacefulIsland and back to CampWawanakwa!" says Chris.

"That doesn't sound so hard, PeacefulIsland sounds like a nice place." Owen reasons.

"Don't let the name fool you! There are many dangerous creatures on this island. Also before you are allowed the leave the island you will have to complete a mini challenge. There are several stations around the island, some are quite simple and some are not so simple. Do one of these challenges and you are then allowed to jump in one of the row boats that have been supplied and row back to CampWawanakwa. First person back wins a super amazing reward!"

"So there's no elimination tonight?" asks Tyler. Chris nods.

"What's the reward?" asks Duncan.

"You and another contestant of your choice will go to civilisation for the night where you will get a free dinner, entry to a nightclub and free drinks all night and you will stay at a luxury hotel!" Chris announces. The campers all nod in approval at this great reward. "And go!" Chris gets back into the helicopter and takes off to watch the race from the sky.

Heather immediately races off into the forest, as does Izzy, in the opposite direction. The others follow suit until the only person still standing in the clearing is Bridgette. She sighs.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"I really don't like being alone in the woods! I was hoping I could tag along with someone but everyone just kind of raced away!"

* * *

"Well I guess I better get moving…" Bridgette says to herself. She picks a direction and wanders off into the woods.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"What's the point in winning the reward if Lindsay's not here to share the reward with? I miss her."

* * *

Noah and Owen trudge through the underbrush, hoping to find the edge of the island soon.

"Maybe Chris was lying about the dangerous creatures," Owen says hopefully.

"I doubt it. Chris only lies about things that are supposedly good. He's probably lying about the reward." Noah rolls his eyes.

"I hope I win the reward! If I win I'll take you with me. Will you take me if you win?" says Owen.

"You know I'd have to take Courtney, Owen," Noah shakes his head. Owen looks slightly disappointed. Suddenly he hears a rustling noise and stops dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" asks Noah, stopping and listening. They look around nervously waiting for something to jump out at them, but nothing happens.

"Noah!" Owen giggles, "stop tickling my leg!"

"I'm not touching you…" says Noah, looking down at Owen's legs. His eyes widen when he sees a massive snake making its way up Owen's leg. "Uh, Owen, don't panic, but there is a massive snake on your leg…"

"Aargh! Get it off, get it off!" cries Owen, shaking his leg. The snake twists its way up Owen's leg and around his large stomach.

"Stop shaking it, you're making it worse!" says Noah. "Okay, surely I have read something about this… what to do when a snake is trying to suffocate you… what kind of snake do you think it is?" he asks Owen. Owen looks petrified and doesn't answer. Noah picks up a stick and starts poking the snake.

* * *

Duncan and Geoff decide to work together to get off the island, though it isn't clear what they will do when they reach the finish line.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I told Geoff we could work together but when it comes down to it I need to win this reward. I need to get Courtney away from Noah for a while to make her see she's too good for him and that she should be with me."

* * *

"How big is this island anyway?" complains Geoff. Duncan shrugs. It feels like they've been walking for hours when in reality it's probably only been thirty minutes.

"We're going around in circles for all I know," says Duncan. "This forest all looks the same!"

"Maybe we should leave markers so we know where we've been," Geoff suggests.

"Shh! Someone's coming!" Duncan stops Geoff by putting his hand on his chest. They stand still waiting for whoever it is to reveal themselves.

"Ugh, not you two!" says Courtney from behind them. Duncan and Geoff turn around.

"Are you lost too?" asks Geoff.

"We aren't lost!" Duncan says to Geoff.

"Really? 'Cause it kinda seems like we are man." says Geoff. Duncan rolls his eyes.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a challenge to win!" says Courtney as she starts to leave.

"Hey, where's Bridgette?" asks Geoff before Courtney can go.

"I don't know. This is an individual challenge!" Courtney snaps.

"You left her alone?" asks Geoff.

"Uh, yeah. So? She's a big girl, she can take care of herself. I'm sure she understands." Courtney shrugs.

"Aw man! Bridgette's terrified of being alone in the woods! Don't you know anything?" Geoff smacks his hand against his forehead.

"Oh yeah! Oops, I totally forgot!" says Courtney.

"I better go find her. I'll see you later man," Geoff says to Duncan and turns back the way he came.

"So…" says Duncan after Geoff has left.

"Ugh!" Courtney rolls her eyes and runs off into the forest.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later!" calls Duncan.

* * *

Bridgette steps carefully through the forest, on high alert for any dangerous creatures that may be lurking in the trees. She jumps at the sound of her own feet crunching on a stick and her heart is beating extremely fast.

"Maybe I should just turn back and wait in the clearing…" she says to herself. "I don't need to win this challenge, it's just a reward…" She looks around for the way she came. "Except I'm completely lost." She sighs and sits down on a log. She hears something crashing through the forest and she feels terrified all over again. She stands up, ready to run. Something is running directly towards her. She screams as it nearly bowls her over, but it turns out it's just Geoff.

"You stupid jerk!" Bridgette yells, "you scared me half to death!"

"Sorry Bridge, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I thought Courtney would be with you but I just saw her so I thought I'd come and find you." Geoff explains.

"What right do you have to make sure I'm okay?" Bridgette snaps. Geoff shrugs sheepishly.

"I just know you hate the woods, okay?" he says. "Do you want me to leave?"

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Which is worse; being alone in the woods, or being in the woods with Geoff? This is a tough decision."

* * *

Bridgette thinks about it for a second and then decides she can put up with Geoff as long as her can get her off the island and back to camp.

"You can stay. But only because I hate the woods more than I hate you." Bridgette concedes.

"Wow, you must really hate the woods!" Geoff jokes, but Bridgette isn't laughing.

"Yeah, I do." She says flatly. "Now help me get out of here!"

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"I can't believe how much Bridgette hates me! I really screwed it up. I wish we could be friends again."

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette walk in the direction that Bridgette had been walking in originally, since the way Geoff had been going hadn't yielded any results yet either. It isn't long till the see Heather running towards them.

"Heather, what's wrong?" asks Bridgette.

"I do not like that challenge and I refuse to do it! I need to find a better one!" Heather calls as she runs past without stopping.

"Maybe we should follow her," says Bridgette nervously. "If Heather doesn't like the challenge it's probably pretty awful…"

"Oh come on, how bad can it be?" says Geoff and keeps walking in the direction Heather came from. Bridgette sighs and follows him.

* * *

Duncan finally makes it to the beach where he sees a sign informing him of what his challenge is. _Build a fire big enough for aircraft to see and you are allowed to take one of these five rowboats back to Camp Wawanakwa. _There is already a huge fire there so someone must have already beaten him to it. Duncan curses to himself before realising there are still five boats there, so whoever built the fire must have had something bad happen to them. Duncan gets to work on building a fire.

* * *

At much the same time as Duncan reaches the beach, Courtney also does, but at a different point. She has to walk along a bit before she finds a sign with a challenge on it. _Catch five jellyfish without being stung and you can take a rowboat back to Camp Wawanakwa. _Courtney looks around for a net or some gloves or anything to catch the jellyfish but all she can see is a pile of jellyfish that has already been caught. She walks over to the pile and kicks it, wondering who had caught them and what they had caught them with. She looks around again and this time she notices a stick with a sharpened point laying a little way away so she goes to grab it in order to spear some jellyfish.

* * *

The snake does not appreciate being poked with a stick and flies at Noah with its mouth open. Noah jams the stick into its mouth and the snake begins choking.

"Quick, let's run!" says Noah, grabbing Owen's hand and getting as far away from the snake as possible.

"Wow, thanks Noah, you just saved my life!" says Owen gratefully.

"Don't mention it. Come one, let's get out of here," says Noah. The two guys have hardly taken two steps when they see a tiger ready to pounce. "Oh come on!" Noah curses.

* * *

Bridgette and Geoff finally make it to the challenge that Heather had come running from and they read the sign. _Drink three shots of tequila before you can get in a rowboat and row back to camp. _

"That doesn't sound so bad, what was Heather so worried about?" Geoff asks.

"Maybe she doesn't drink…" suggests Bridgette.

"She always used to drink when we'd go to parties and stuff. Maybe there's a catch," says Geoff, walking around the other side of the sign to see if anything was written on the back. Bridgette had forgotten that Geoff spent a fair bit of time partying with Heather now that they were both famous. Bridgette used to go to them too and she remembers Heather loving the booze.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"There's only one reason I can think of that Heather would suddenly stop drinking alcohol. Anyone else remember her appointment last week?"

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette down their first shot and wince at the taste. They are about to take their second when Izzy rushes up, reads the sign, drinks three shots and bounds of into the forest.

"What's up with her?" asks Geoff. Bridgette doesn't answer, just drinks her second shot. Geoff does the same and once they've both had three shots they walk over to the boats. Bridgette gets into one and Geoff goes to climb in after her.

"What do you think you're doing?" asks Bridgette.

"Uh… I thought…" Geoff stammers.

"You can take your own boat, thanks!" Bridgette says as she pushes her boat away from the shore.

"Aw, come on Bridge!" Geoff calls after her. She keeps rowing though so Geoff gets in his own boat and follows her.

* * *

The tiger has Noah in its jaws and Owen is running away from it at full speed.

"How do we get out of this one?" Owen calls to Noah.

"I'm the one in the tiger's mouth, you think of something!" yells Noah. That's when they both hear the sound of manic laughter and the crashing of branches. Izzy comes flying through the trees on a vine. She lets go of the vine and lands on the tiger's back. The tiger turns to growl at her, dropping Noah from its jaws.

"Giddy up!" says Izzy, digging her heels into the tiger's sides. The tiger makes a little meowing sound before galloping into the woods.

"Wow, thank goodness for Izzy!" Owen chuckles.

"Yeah lucky your crazy ex-girlfriend was there to save us or else I WOULD BE TIGER FOOD!" Noah shouts.

"Whoa, calm down!" Owen winces.

"Let's just go!" Noah spins around, only to find himself face to face with a polar bear. "This doesn't even make sense!" he says.

* * *

Heather finally reaches another challenge after the first one not being to her liking. _Fight a crocodile and win and you can take a boat back to camp. _Heather sighs in relief.

"Now this, I can do!" she says to herself. She spots a dead crocodile lying a few feet away and walks over to it. She looks around wondering if she has to fight another one of if this one will do when another crocodile wanders up looking menacing. Heather narrows her eyes and prepares for the fight.

* * *

As Bridgette rows her head starts to spin and she feels a little ill. The tequila must be hitting her. She looks around for Geoff and it takes her a while because her vision is a little fuzzy but she finally spots him a little way behind her, rowing his boat in circles. She starts laughing uncontrollably at Geoff's misfortune until she realises that she too is rowing in a circle. She stops rowing for a second and tries to figure out which way the island is but she's never had a great sense of direction and the tequila is making it worse. Finally she gives up and just lays down in the boat for a nap.

* * *

Courtney can't see anyone else in sight as she approaches the CampWawanakwa dock in her rowboat. She pulls the boat to shore and rushes up to the dock where Chris is waiting.

"Yes! I'm the first back! Do I win the prize?" Courtney asks.

"Not so fast! You're not the first back!" Chris stops her.

"What?! Who is?" Courtney says, outraged. Chris gestures behind her and she turns around to see Tyler and Duncan walking towards her. They've obviously been back for a while because they have both changed into their swimsuits and are going for a swim in the lake.

"Hey Princess, you're finally back!" says Duncan.

"Don't call me that!" Courtney snaps.

"You know you love it!" Duncan winks and dives into the lake, followed by Tyler.

"Ugh! Well who was first then?" Courtney asks Chris, "Tyler or Duncan?"

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Please let it be Tyler, please let it be Tyler!"

* * *

"Well, Tyler was first back…" says Chris. Courtney breathes a sigh of relief. "But he didn't complete a challenge so Duncan is the winner." Chris grins. Courtney gives a cry of frustration.

* * *

Finally when everyone is back from the island Chris gathers them up to announce the winner properly. Noah and Owen are definitely looking worse for wear as they were attacked by three different wild animals. No one knows how they managed to escape the polar bear and they refuse to tell.

"Okay so Noah and Owen fought a snake, a tiger and a polar bear but failed to complete a challenge. Tyler was first back but failed to complete a challenge. Bridgette and Geoff got drunk and rowed in circles for an hour. Izzy did every challenge for some strange reason… Heather fought a crocodile and won, Courtney caught five jellyfish, but the winner is Duncan! Duncan built a huge fire and was the first person back who actually completed a challenge." Chris announces. No one looks particularly pleased with this news except for Duncan. "So Duncan, who would you like to take with you to share your reward?" Chris asks.

"Courtney," Duncan smirks. Courtney huffs and rolls her eyes and walks into her cabin, slamming the door.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"It was obvious that he was going to choose me which is why I was so annoyed that he won the challenge. But I really do want to get off this island for a while, even if it is with Duncan."

* * *

"I need to talk to Courtney, alone." Noah says, storming into the girls' cabin. The other girls kind of look at him and then each other before Heather shrugs and leads the rest of the girls outside. Courtney finishes putting diamond studs in her ears and turns to Noah.

"What is it Noah?" she asks.

"You can't accept the reward!" Noah says.

"Why not? And be warned the girls are probably listening at the door." Courtney warns.

"Who cares? You can't go, because what will people think?" says Noah.

"They'll think that I'm sick of being on this stupid island in this horrible bed and want a night away!" Courtney retorts.

"No, they'll think what I think, and that's that you have feelings for Duncan and can't wait to be alone with him!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would you think that? I hate Duncan." Courtney claims.

"Not too long ago you were trying to break off this engagement do I need to remind you? And Heather knows about it!"

"Noah, you're being paranoid. And I'm not going to let you get in the way of a good night."

"Well if you're going to go, at least don't wear that!" Noah gestures to her dress which is a red off the shoulder thing that shows quite a lot of cleavage and is not exactly what you would call long.

"What's wrong with it?" Courtney asks looking down.

"You look way too good! Not to mention you look like you're going to pull a Katie and burst out of it at any second!" Noah complains. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment! I'm leaving now!" she opens the door which slams into Heather's face who, as Courtney had predicted, was eavesdropping. The other two girls look a little sheepish at being caught out. Heather just rubs her face where the door hit it.

"Ouch, next time warn me when you're coming out!" she says.

"Sorry Heather, I didn't mean to interrupt your eavesdropping. I'll see you girls tomorrow, okay?" Courtney says as she walks towards Chris's helicopter where Duncan is waiting.

"Okay! Have fun on your date! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Heather calls with a wave.

"It's not a date!" Courtney calls back.

"It's so a date." Heather says to Bridgette and Izzy.

* * *

Duncan and Courtney sit in awkward silence for the entire helicopter ride and car ride to the restaurant. Duncan goes to say something a few times but everything he thinks of to say sounds stupid in his head so he changes his mind at the last second. When they arrive at the restaurant Duncan pulls out Courtney's chair for her and she raises her eyebrows at him suspiciously, wondering where he finally learnt to be a gentleman. They order their food and sit in more awkward silence as Courtney fiddles with her jewellery and looks around the room and Duncan just stares at her, trying to think of something to say.

"You look really nice," he says finally.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Good work Duncan, it took you an hour to come up with that?"

* * *

"Oh, thanks." Courtney says. She feels weirdly nervous and she wishes Duncan would stop staring at her but she doesn't want him to know that she's noticed. "So do you," she says, and she actually means it. Duncan scrubs up well and it looks like he's actually tried for once. The waiter brings out some wine and they both drink eagerly, giving them something to do while they think of something else to say.

"Well… at least this date is better than the one I had with Heather…" Duncan laughs nervously.

"This is not a date!" Courtney says. "But I can imagine that Heather would be a horrible date. I don't know how she ever tricked Alejandro into marrying her!"

"I think they deserve each other," says Duncan.

"Why? Because they're both terrible people?" Courtney smirks.

"Exactly. Plus they are both extremely manipulative. How else would Heather get so far on each season she's competed in? She even won once!" Duncan says with a shake of his head.

"I know what you mean! She always knows exactly how to get you to do her bidding…" Courtney says, thinking of the secret Heather knew about her. "Is it strange that I'm actually starting to like her?"

"Uh, yes! What could possess you to like that witch?" Duncan says incredulously. Courtney shrugs and looks down at the table.

"I've often found that once you get to know someone they aren't quite as bad as you thought they were," she says, looking up at Duncan again. The waiter brings their food out then and the topic of conversation moves away from Heather but they talk and laugh through dinner, as if they are old friends who had never had any animosity between them.

After dinner Duncan takes Courtney's hand and leads her to the nightclub and surprisingly she doesn't pull her hand away.

"Can I get you a drink?" Duncan asks her once they arrive at the nightclub.

"I don't really drink. I prefer to remain clearheaded," says Courtney. Duncan raises his eyebrows.

"You just had half a bottle of wine at the restaurant," Duncan points out. Courtney purses her lips but then she shrugs.

"Okay, maybe just one." She agrees.

"What would you like?" asks Duncan.

"Surprise me," she smiles. Duncan leaves Courtney to go and get the drinks and when he comes back there is some guy chatting her up.

"Uh hey there," Duncan says to the guy as he hands Courtney her drink.

"Who the hell are you?" the guy asks.

"I'm Duncan, and she's with me so you should probably walk away now." Duncan replies. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Funny, she didn't mention that," says the guy, folding his arms.

"Okay guys, that's enough. Sorry Brad, he's right, I came here with him. Come on Duncan." Courtney grabs Duncan's hand and leads him away towards the bar. "What are you doing Duncan?" Courtney hisses as soon as they are away from Brad.

"You have a fiancé remember? Just protecting you from yourself." Duncan says.

"I don't need your protection. And if you're really so worried about my fiancé, why did you bring me here?"

"You're right, I'm sorry. But why didn't you tell him you were engaged?" Duncan glances down at Courtney's left hand only to realise she isn't wearing her engagement ring. "Are you still engaged?" he asks, confused.

"Yes! It just didn't go with my other jewellery, okay?" She downs her drink and asks the bartender for another. "Let's just enjoy the rest of the night."

"Alright. Do you want a shot of tequila?" Duncan asks.

"Sure why not?" Courtney replies.

* * *

Several drinks later Courtney pulls Duncan out onto the dance floor. He can tell she's extremely drunk because she's all over him but he can't say he's not enjoying it. While they're dancing a guy bumps into Courtney.

"Watch it, buddy!" she snaps at him.

"Hey aren't you that girl from that reality TV show?" the guy asks.

"Oh, yeah I am!" Courtney smiles.

"What are you doing here with him? Aren't you engaged to that Noah guy? Did you guys get eliminated or something?"

"None of your business!" Courtney retorts.

"Wow my wife was right, you are a bitch. Also kind of a slut." The guy says looking at her outfit. Courtney punches the guy in the nose.

"Whoa!" says Duncan, grabbing her before she can get another hit in. Duncan sees security coming over so he throws Courtney over his shoulder and waves at the security guys. "Don't worry, we're leaving!"

"Put me down!" Courtney struggles and kicks him but he doesn't put her down until they're outside. "What did you do that for?" Courtney puts her hands on her hips.

"It was either that or security kick you out. Come on, let's go back the hotel." He puts his arm around her shoulders and they walk to the hotel which is only a block away, although Courtney can barely walk straight. Duncan walks Courtney to her room to make sure she gets in alright.

"Goodnight," he whispers and goes to leave.

"Duncan!" Courtney says suddenly. He turns around to face her. She grabs him by the front of his shirt and pulls him in close to her before catching his lips with her own. They pause for a second after the first kiss, their lips barely touching, before Duncan returns the kiss with full force, pushing Courtney up against the door. She wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and kisses him back with the same intensity that he is giving her. Somewhere something in his mind reminds him how drunk she is and he somehow manages to pull away from her, letting her gently back onto the floor, but not removing his hands from her waist or widening the distance between them.

"Do you want to come in?" Courtney whispers.

"You have no idea how much I want to. But you are really drunk right now, Courtney. I don't want to do anything you're going to regret in the morning." Duncan says, trying to do the right thing. Courtney pulls away from him and glares at him. "What?" he asks. Courtney doesn't reply, she just opens the door to her room and goes in, slamming it angrily behind her. "Courtney!" Duncan calls. "Court, come on!" "Do not call me Court!" she yells. Duncan curses under his breath before walking back to his own room, feeling deflated and annoyed at himself.


	15. If One of Them is Dead

**Chapter Fifteen – If One of Them is Dead**

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Oh god, what was I thinking?"

* * *

Duncan and Courtney arrive back at the island after their night away and Courtney immediately goes to her cabin and flops down on the bed, still wearing the same clothes she wore the night before. She is feeling quite hungover and also kind of embarrassed and stupid about what happened with Duncan and the thought of the last night makes her cringe.

"So how was your date?" asks Heather.

"Leave me alone!" Courtney whines.

"That bad, huh?" Heather nods sympathetically. Courtney ignores her.

"Chris wants us outside in ten minutes so we can start today's challenge," says Bridgette. Courtney groans at the thought of having to do a challenge with the way she is feeling right now.

"Wow, I hope today's challenge involves making a lasso and using it to catch the boys that would be so fun!" says Izzy. The other girls don't even bother to roll their eyes at her, they are so used to her crazy stories and ideas.

* * *

Duncan walks into his cabin and receives dirty looks from Noah and Owen who promptly leave the room once Duncan has entered. Geoff and Tyler, however, are eager for details of how last night went. Duncan recounts everything that happened in detail for them.

"Aw man, I don't get it! Why is she with Noah when she clearly wants you?" asks Geoff.

"Women are so complicated!" Tyler shakes his head.

"Tell me about it!" says Duncan.

"Okay campers I want you out by the stage ASAP!" Chris's voice rings out through the loudspeakers.

* * *

When the campers arrive at the stage they see nine podiums set up on it, each one with the name of one of the contestants.

"Please stand behind your name!" says Chris.

"Is this a game show?" asks Bridgette.

"Finally, something intellectual!" says Noah.

"It's kind of like a game show…" Chris chuckles. The campers look at each other nervously. "It has come to my attention that a lot of you have secrets that you wish to keep hidden. And to that I say…" Chris presses a button on a remote and a song starts playing through the speakers.

"_Where's the drama in that? Yeah where's the drama in that? I thought I was in love, but it wasn't interesting enough, so you've gotta stir up some trouble…_" Chris fades out the song.

"Was that Trent's song?" asks Tyler.

"Yep! Horrible, right?" Chris shudders. "Anyway for today's challenge you'll take in turns of telling each others secrets. If you can't think of a secret you'll be out of the challenge. Last person standing wins invincibility!" Chris announces.

"So whoever knows the most secrets wins?" Geoff clarifies.

"That is correct! Geoff you can start." Everyone looks at Geoff. Geoff gulps.

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"This could get really bad. I don't want to be the first one to reveal someone's deepest secrets… it would definitely come back to bite me. So we'll stick to little things I think."

* * *

"Bridgette…" Geoff starts. Bridgette glares at him. "Bridgette's middle name is Tallulah."

"Okay… Geoff gets a point. Bridgette would you like to get him back?" Chris says.

"Geoff wet the bed until he was twelve!" Bridgette states. Chris nods.

"Hey!" says Geoff, turning red. Bridgette pokes out her tongue.

"Heather, how about you next?"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Obviously I know a great secret about Courtney. But as soon as that comes out, I lose my alliance with her."

* * *

"When Tyler was fourteen he accidentally kissed his cousin," Heather smirks.

"How did you know that?" Tyler says, horrified.

"Girls talk, Tyler. Especially Lindsay." Heather flicks her hair.

"Ooh, ooh me next!" says Izzy.

"Okay, Izzy…" Chris agrees.

"Owen… sleeps naked!" Izzy says.

"We all already know that!" Noah rolls his eyes.

"Yeah Izzy, not exactly a secret!" Chris says. "You're out of the running for invincibility!" Izzy folds her arms and pouts in annoyance.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"What's something about Heather that no one knows? I wonder if Courtney knows Heather tried to steal her hair that one time…"

* * *

"In Total Drama Action Heather tried to steal Courtney's hair!" says Tyler.

"How would you know? You weren't even there!" scoffs Heather.

"Yeah but I watched it on TV!" says Tyler.

"As did the rest of the world… Tyler I think you're out of the challenge!" says Chris. "Noah, why don't you tell us a secret?" Noah glances at Owen.

"When Owen was a kid he got sent to his room without dinner so he ate the macaroni off a picture frame he made."

"Noah! I told you that in confidence!" says Owen.

"Oh come on, it's not that big a deal!"

"Well in that case, you won't mind if I tell everyone you wore legwarmers to college!" Owen folds his arms.

"No I didn't!" Noah protests.

"You told me you did!" Owen replies. Noah sighs exasperatedly.

"I'm getting bored, someone better come up with a good secret now or people are going to pay! Courtney, surely you know something horrifying about someone!" Chris says, tapping his foot. Courtney thinks for a second.

"Duncan got beat up by a girl in juvie!" says Courtney. Duncan glares at her.

"Yeah, well Courtney couldn't tell time until she was thirteen!" Duncan retorts. Courtney huffs.

"Duncan entered a Cyndi Lauper open mic competition and won!"

"Courtney came fourth and cried!"

"Duncan one time wore my underwear for a day!"

"Courtney!" Duncan hisses and goes red. Courtney looks smug.

"You couldn't tell time until you were thirteen?" Geoff smirks at Courtney.

"Shut up, Geoff, you wet the bed till you were twelve!" Courtney retorts. Geoff looks embarrassed.

"Wow. As thrilling as this is, it isn't nearly dramatic enough. I'm changing the rules! Izzy and Tyler, you're back in. This time you all tell me a secret. Whoever's secret I decide is the most boring, gets immediately eliminated from the competition and must head down to the dock of shame and catch the boat of losers!" Chris declares. Everyone looks at each other in horror.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Well my secret has got to be the most dramatic. And no one knows anything remotely interesting about me! I know how to keep my own secrets!"

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Could this get any worse?"

* * *

"Owen, you can start this time!" says Chris. Owen taps his fingers together nervously.

"Okay, I hope this is interesting enough… when I was a kid, I went to fat camp… and Tyler was there! Tyler used to be fat!" Owen confesses.

"Nooooooo!" Tyler screams. "You swore you'd never tell!"

"I'm sorry!" Owen puts his face in his hands.

"Anyone got a secret about Owen?" Chris asks.

"I do!" says Noah.

"Noah! What are you going to say?" Owen says anxiously.

"Relax, I think everyone suspected this anyway but… Owen is bisexual." Noah shrugs.

"Ohh, that makes sense." Says Izzy. The others nod in agreement.

"Wait, so no one cares?" Owen asks. Everyone kind of shrugs or shakes their heads. "Oh, so I kept it a secret for nothing…"

"Pretty much, man!" Geoff slaps him on the back.

"Okay, who's next?" Chris asks, looking at each contestant. "Let's have Geoff!"

"Uh… okay…" Geoff scratches his head. "The biggest secret I know is about Duncan…"

"Watch it! I know things about you too, you know!" Duncan narrows his eyes. Geoff shrugs.

"It's probably best it comes out now anyway… So Duncan isn't actually unemployed. He's really the CEO of a company that makes and sells and also fights monster trucks. It's called Monster Mash. Also his own monster truck is named…"

"You only have to tell one secret!" Duncan cuts him off.

"Oh right, sorry!" says Geoff sheepishly. Everyone is stunned at the news of Duncan's success. "Anyway, he's super rich dudes." Geoff finishes.

"Yeah, well since you outed me, I will just have to tell everyone that the reason Geoff wouldn't marry Bridgette is because he's already married! To Blaineley!" Duncan reveals.

"What?!" cries Bridgette, "how could you?!"

"It was an accident! On my twenty-second birthday, Duncan and I flew to Vegas and we got really drunk and we met Blaineley there and Duncan thought it would be funny if we got married."

"You were married to Blaineley for three years while we were still together and you never told me? You absolute jerk!" Bridgette's face is red with anger.

"It was Duncan's idea!" Geoff defends himself.

"You didn't have to go along with it! Plus we didn't see each other for four years after that night, so you can't blame me for not doing something about it!" Duncan points out.

"Blaineley refused to get a divorce!"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt this drama fest, but it's impossible for you to be married to Blaineley, because I am!" Chris says.

"What?!" everyone choruses. Chris shrugs.

"Yeah, we dated for like six months after Total Drama All-Stars and then got married. Biggest mistake of my life! We're in the middle of the divorce now." Chris explains.

"How did no one know about this?" Courtney asks.

"Chef did!" says Chris. "Anyway, moving on. Courtney, do you have a secret you'd like to add?"

"Yes." She gives Bridgette a look from the corner of her eye. "Bridgette told me not long ago that she's still in love with Geoff." Bridgette exhales in protest and Geoff whips his head around to look at her.

"You are?" Geoff says quietly. Bridgette just turns away from him and folds her arms.

"Well this is awkward!" Chris says happily. He decides to leave the awkward silence a little longer before he continues on. "Alright, Tyler, what have you got to tell us?" he says finally.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"Well, apparently the secret I told before wasn't good enough, so I've got to tell pretty much the only real secret I know. Duncan is going to kill me. And if he doesn't, Courtney will."

* * *

"Okay well… last night when Courtney and Duncan were at the hotel, she kissed him." Tyler admits.

"You told him?!" Courtney says to Duncan, outraged. Duncan ignores her and glares at Tyler.

"You cheated on me?" Noah asks, but he really doesn't sound like he's surprised. Courtney doesn't answer, so Duncan decides to.

"Yeah, she did. Twice actually." Duncan folds his arms defiantly, not caring what Noah will say or do.

"It was just a kiss!" Courtney protests.

"It would have been a lot more than that if I hadn't stopped it!" Duncan retorts.

"You are an absolute jerk, Duncan! I hate you so much!" Courtney yells.

"That's not what you said last night!"

"Ugh!" says Courtney in frustration.

"This is outrageous! I can't believe you would cheat on me! We really need to talk!" Noah joins back in the argument.

"Oh give it up Noah!" Heather butts in. "Chris this is my secret. Noah and Courtney's engagement is a fake! So Noah you can stop acting like you care now!" Heather rolls her eyes. There is a stunned silence, so Bridgette decides to break it.

"Heather's pregnant!" Bridgette yells.

"How could you possibly know that?" Heather yells at Bridgette.

"Because I'm not as blind as the rest of the people here!" Bridgette yells back. Suddenly all hell breaks loose. Heather is yelling at Bridgette, and Geoff is trying to get Bridgette to talk to him. Courtney is yelling at Heather and Duncan and Noah, Noah is yelling at Courtney and Heather, and Duncan is yelling at Courtney and Tyler. Courtney gives another cry of frustration before leaving the stage and storming to her cabin where she slams the door. Heather follows suit. Bridgette shouts at Geoff to leave her alone before she runs down to the lake and dives in. Duncan stalks off into the forest and Noah and Owen walk back to their cabin.

"Uh, the game isn't finished yet!" Chris yells, but only Geoff, Tyler and Izzy are still there. "Well, Izzy. Come up with a good secret now and I won't send you home." Shrugs Chris after failing to get the other contestants to listen to him.

"Oh okay, this one time I was hitchhiking in Australia when this guy told me he knew where we could find a UFO that had crashed so I like jumped in his car and we went there and there were still aliens there, it was so cool!" Izzy says.

"Okay… that was about yourself and frankly it's probably made up. So I'm going to have to send you home. Please make your way down to the dock of shame and board the boat of losers!" Chris says. Izzy pouts and folds her arms. She shakes her head in refusal. "Geoff, Tyler, would you mind carrying her?" Geoff grabs her arms and Tyler grabs her feet and they take her down to the dock of shame and throw her onto the boat of losers. She surprisingly doesn't struggle much. They hear her laughing manically as the boat sails off across the lake.

**Note - If you watch Friends you will probably notice that some of the ideas from this chapter are from "The One With Rachel's New Assistant", just thought I'd let you know so you don't accuse me of plagiarism or whatever! Hope you enjoyed it! Also next chapter will expand on some of the secrets, like why were Noah and Courtney fake engaged etc.**


	16. A Fishy Business

**Chapter Sixteen – A Fishy Business**

Heather, Courtney and Bridgette lay on their beds in their cabin.

"You girls have to promise me you will never leave me alone with Duncan, okay?" Courtney says.

"Okay, as long as you don't leave me alone with Geoff!" Bridgette agrees.

"I'll agree to both of those things as long as neither of you vote me off!" Heather adds.

"So, is this kind of like an alliance?" Bridgette asks.

"I guess it is," says Heather with a shrug. "So, Courtney, you never told me why you and Noah were pretending to be engaged," Heather changes the subject. Courtney groans.

"I don't want to talk about it!" she whines.

"Ugh fine. You have to tell me sometime though!" Heather says and Bridgette nods in agreement.

"So are we all good then? I mean about telling each others secrets yesterday?" asks Courtney.

"I think we were all sufficiently embarrassed… let's forget about it, okay?" Heather says.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I'm not really annoyed that Bridgette outed the fact that I'm pregnant. It's good news after all. And she doesn't even know the best part!"

* * *

"Okay campers! Time for today's challenge!" Chris declares as the remaining eight line up in front of him. "Today's challenge is a game of sardines! Chef will hide and all of you will have to find him. Last person to find him will be eliminated from Total Drama!"

"What? No voting? No campfire ceremony?" Duncan asks.

"Nope! I get sick of saying your names over and over. So now it's just whoever sucks at the challenge goes home. I'm excited! Okay, Chef, you have one minute to hide!" Chris says. "Close your eyes campers!" They all do as Chris requests and Chef runs off to hide. One minute later Chris allows them to open their eyes again. "Okay, when I count to three you can go and find him! 1…2…3, go!" As soon as Chris says go the contestants run off in different directions to start the hunt for Chef.

* * *

"This is Chef we're talking about, he's not going to be in some really obvious place like up a tree or in a cave. We have to think outside the box." Courtney reasons.

"Look, I know we agreed to stick together but for this challenge it really doesn't make sense if we do," says Heather to Bridgette and Courtney.

"You're right. If we hunt together it's bound to be one of us to be the last one. We'll just have to avoid Duncan and Geoff the best we can," Courtney says. Bridgette nods in agreement and the girls split up to look for Chef on their own.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"Owen and I decided to look for Chef in the most obvious place first, his kitchen, but unfortunately he wasn't there."

* * *

Geoff scratches his head, wondering where he should look. He had planned on following Duncan but Duncan ditched him to do the challenge on his own. He considers asking Tyler for help but then decides he's probably better off without him. Geoff continues walking through the forest. The only hiding places he can think of is either up in the trees or in a cave. He heads towards a cave that he remembers being there from TotalDramaIsland, looking up in the trees as he walks along.

"Hellooo?" Geoff calls as he enters the cave. "Chef?" He wanders into the cave, trying to feel his way along as it's pretty dark and he can't see a thing. He is about to give up on the cave and look somewhere else when he trips over something.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" says the something.

"Chef?" Geoff asks.

"Yes it's me! You found me, now shut up!" Chef hisses.

"Sorry!" Geoff lays down beside Chef, feeling proud of himself. He lays there for a while before he has an idea. "Hey, Chef?" he asks.

"Mm?" Chef responds.

"Am I allowed to leave the cave?" Geoff wonders.

"I'm not gonna stop you. But don't be the last back or you'll be eliminated." Chef warns. Geoff nods, though Chef can't see him, and gets up and leaves the cave to find Bridgette.

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"I really need to talk to Bridgette. After everything that was revealed yesterday, I think I need to explain myself… and maybe we could even get back together, if what Courtney said is true…"

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Courtney's been avoiding me like the plague since yesterday. She didn't talk to me at all on the way back to the island, and after the truth came out about her and Noah, every time she sees me she runs away or she makes sure Heather or Bridgette is with her. It's getting ridiculous."

* * *

Duncan sees Courtney through the trees only a little way away from him, and she's by herself.

"Hey, Courtney!" he calls. She looks up and upon seeing that it's Duncan she turns to go in the opposite direction. "You can't avoid me forever!" Duncan yells as he watches her retreating figure. She doesn't reply although he's sure she heard him. Duncan kicks a nearby tree then resumes his search for Chef.

* * *

It isn't long till Geoff finds Bridgette looking for Chef behind a pile of rocks. He walks up behind her silently so she doesn't even know he's there until he touches her on the arm. She jumps when he does so. She scowls when she realises who it is.

"What do you want Geoff? Go find Chef yourself, I'm not helping you!" Bridgette starts to walk away.

"Uh, I already found him. I could take you to him, if you like." Geoff acts like its no big deal but inside he feels extremely nervous, as if a rejection of this offer would make or break him. Bridgette stares at him for a minute.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Do I go with Geoff and lose my integrity but guarantee myself a place in the final seven, or do I try to find Chef on my own and risk being the last one to find him?"

* * *

"Alright. Let's go." Bridgette agrees and Geoff leads her toward the cave. He decides to stay silent while they're walking, lest she change her mind. He can start to explain himself once they're in the cave with Chef and she has no choice but to stay and listen.

CONFESSIONAL: Geoff

"Okay, maybe it's a little devious, but I just need her to hear me out!"

* * *

Once inside the cave Bridgette and Geoff lay down next to Chef. No one else appears to have found him yet.

"Bridgette," Geoff whispers after ten minutes of silence. She doesn't reply but Geoff assumes she is listening. "I owe you an explanation." Still no reply. "I'm going to tell you what happened that night. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just want you to know." There's no reply for a while and Geoff wonders if there's any point trying to tell her.

"Okay," she whispers finally.

* * *

FLASHBACK: Geoff's 22nd Birthday

Geoff kisses Bridgette goodbye as he, Duncan and a couple of his other friends board a plane to Las Vegas. Bridgette is slightly disappointed he doesn't want her there but she understands he just wants a guy's weekend. He had hinted that a proposal was in the pipeline and she is willing to let him go off with the guys without her if it means they'll be engaged soon.

"I'll see you on Sunday," says Geoff, "I love you babe!" he smiles.

"I love you too," Bridgette smiles and Geoff, Duncan and the other two guys, Tristan and Xavier finally board the plane. Geoff only sees Duncan every few months but they try to keep in contact and a birthday is a good excuse to see each other.

Once they touch down and check into their hotel, the boys immediately hit the hotel casino, Duncan paying for the first round of drinks.

"This monster truck thing must be working out for you then?" Geoff says to Duncan. Duncan shrugs.

"It's not too bad. I'm getting some fairly big crowds in when I fight now, and the prize money is great. I've started designing my own truck. It's going to be epic!" Duncan says

"Wow, sounds awesome man!" They finish their drinks and Tristan buys the next round. Xavier goes to the bathroom and when he comes back he is with another guy who suggests a bar that does all different kinds of weird shots not too far from the hotel. The guys finish their drinks and go to the other bar. The guy leading them there, Gordon, seems like he knows the place really well and the bartender gives them all a free shot when they walk in. Gordon then buys all the guys another shot immediately, since it's Geoff's birthday.

"Oh my god… is that…" Duncan starts, looking at the blonde woman who has just walked in the door.

"Whoa it's Mildred! I mean, Blaineley." Geoff says, waving her over. Blaineley sees him waving and walks over to the group of boys.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here? Geoff and Duncan and… friends…" Blaineley smiles fakely. "What brings you here?"

"It's Geoff's birthday," Duncan answers. "Why are you here?"

"I'm in the middle of shooting the new season of The Puppy Bachelorette Goes Vegas." Blaineley replies.

"That horrible show is still going?" Duncan asks, disgusted. Blaineley narrows her eyes.

"Blaineley you should stay and have a drink with us!" Geoff suggests. Blaineley concedes and Geoff buys her a drink. Several drinks later and Blaineley is feeling particularly flirtatious.

"So Duncan, what are you doing later?" she winks.

"Uhh, I have a girlfriend," says Duncan.

"Oh come on, that's never stopped you before!" Blaineley laughs, batting her eyelashes. "What about you Geoff, still with the surfer nobody?" Blaineley turns her attentions to Geoff.

"I'm still with Bridgette and she's not a nobody." Geoff glares. There's a bit of an awkward silence so Gordon goes to get some more drinks and takes Blaineley with him.

"So how is Candice, anyway?" Geoff asks, trying to smooth over the tension.

"She's alright. Probably going to break up with her soon, she's way too serious about this relationship. She wants me to name my monster truck after her!" Duncan scowls.

"Wow, that's almost like a marriage proposal!" Geoff laughs. Gordon and Blaineley come back with two rounds of shots and some other green drink for everyone.

"Ha. Basically it is though." Duncan says seriously, downing both his shots and looking at the green drink dubiously.

"So what are you going to call your truck then?" Geoff asks. Duncan shrugs.

"I was going to name it a girl's name, that's where Candice got the idea from." Duncan replies. Geoff raises his eyebrows and Duncan goes and gets more drinks. After way too many shots the guys stop making sense to each other and their surroundings are pretty fuzzy. They walk out of the bar, Blaineley still with them, and Xavier spots a chapel.

"Hey, you know what would be really funny?" says Xavier. "If me and Gordon got married!" Xavier starts laughing hysterically and the others join in.

"Totally, let's do it!" says Gordon, and they start to walk over to the chapel.

"Wait, wait!" says Duncan, stopping them. "You know what would be even funnier? If Geoff and Blaineley got married!" Everyone says words of assent and the group walks into the chapel.

"Hi, we want to get married, I'm Geoff and this is Bridgette," slurs Geoff.

"Blaineley!" whispers Duncan.

"Bridgeley…" Geoff corrects himself.

"Okay, well we're free right now, why don't we get this underway." Says the receptionist. Geoff high fives Blaineley. The receptionist gets out the necessary paperwork, which consists of just a marriage certificate and leads the men into the room where the ceremony would take place, which was arranged like a church. Duncan, Tristan, Xavier and Gordon sit in the front row and Geoff goes to sit with them.

"What are we watching?" whispers Geoff.

"You're getting married!" Duncan pushes Geoff up and forces him up to the alter.

"Oh cool, I love marriage!" Geoff nods. A celebrant walks in, dressed like priest and takes his place by Geoff. The song "Blainerific" starts playing and Blaineley bursts through the doors and starts walking down the aisle. She sings along badly as she stumbles towards Geoff. When she finally reaches him the celebrant starts the ceremony.

"Do you, Geoff, take Bridgeley to be your lawfully wedded wife?" he asks. Geoff looks at Duncan. Duncan nods.

"Uh, yeah!" Geoff smiles.

"And do you, Bridgeley, take Geoff to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do!" Blaineley throws her hands in the air and plants a kiss on Geoff who looks mildly surprised.

"Do you have the rings?" asks the celebrant. Geoff looks at his empty hands for about five seconds before shaking his head.

"You can use mine!" says Tristan who pulls off two of the seven rings he has on his fingers. Geoff and Blaineley exchange rings and the celebrant declares them married. Duncan bursts into tears at the sight of the happy couple.

"What's wrong dude?" asks Geoff, rushing over to his friend.

"Nothing. You're just so lucky to be with the person you're supposed to be with, you and Bridgette are so perfect together!" Duncan sobs. Tristan starts crying too.

"Don't you mean Bridgeley?" he says between sobs. Duncan nods.

"Don't worry, you guys will find your soulmate one day!" Geoff pats his friends on the back. Tristan shrugs sadly.

"I already did, and I messed it up!" Duncan wipes away a tear. Geoff looks confused.

"Gwen?" he asks. Duncan shakes his head. "You can't mean… Courtney?" Geoff says, astonished. Duncan bursts into a fresh round of tears which sets of Tristan again. "That's who you're naming your truck after?" Geoff asks. Duncan doesn't answer so he knows he's correct. "I'm sorry man." Geoff starts crying too, and the three boys become a pile of drunken tears. Xavier and Gordon have skedaddled to who knows where and Blaineley is flirting with the celebrant. The celebrant walks over the guys who are crying.

"Is everything alright?" he asks. Tristan nods. "Sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave, there's another couple wanting to be married." Duncan, Geoff and Tristan finally stop crying and leave the chapel and Blaineley behind and head back to the hotel.

"Hope you had a good birthday," Duncan murmurs as they fall asleep.

Geoff wakes up the next morning feeling like he's been hit by a truck. He looks over and sees Xavier is in his bed so must have returned at some point during the night. Duncan is not his bed however, but a moment later he comes out of the bathroom, looking as bad as Geoff feels. Duncan notices that Geoff's awake.

"Uh, hey." Duncan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"What's the time?" Geoff asks.

"A bit after one…" Duncan says. "So… do you remember anything from last night?" he asks. Geoff shakes his head, then immediately regrets it because it makes his head hurt even more. Duncan can't decide if it's a good or bad thing that Geoff can't remember. He could keep quiet about it and no one ever need know Geoff married Blaineley. It would be wrong not to tell him, but he doesn't know how to. Plus if he tells Geoff about the wedding, he may remember other parts of the night, and the last thing he needs is Geoff remembering how he'd cried like a big baby over a girl he hadn't been with for five years.

"Do you want to go get breakfast?" Duncan asks. Geoff may handle it better if he has some food in his stomach.

"Okay," Geoff agrees and they both head down to the hotel restaurant. They order and Geoff rests his head on the table in the hopes that it will make his headache go away. "What did I drink last night?" Geoff groans. Duncan shrugs. Geoff looks up at him. "So seriously, what the hell happened last night, 'cause the last thing I remember is Blaineley buying us some kind of weird shot with licorice in it and it was disgusting… why do I have a really weird feeling about Blaineley… why am I wearing one of Tristan's rings?" Geoff looks down at his left hand and notices the ring there. Geoff looks at Duncan in horror as memories of the night before come flooding back to him. "No…" he waits for Duncan to say he's wrong but Duncan just looks at him in pity. "We've got to find Blaineley!"

Duncan and Geoff go everywhere they went last night, asking everyone if they've seen Blaineley or if they know where she's staying but it's no use, they can't find her anywhere. They are silent on the flight back home, both feeling awkward about the night before. Bridgette is waiting at baggage claim when they arrive. Geoff sees her before she sees him and he hesitates slightly, feeling guilty.

"Just don't tell her," Duncan says. Geoff glares at him. Bridgette spots them then and runs over and throws her arms around Geoff and kisses him.

"Hey babe!" she says, "did you have a good time?" She puts her hand in his and after grabbing their luggage they walk to Bridgette's car.

"Yeah, it was okay. I wish you'd been there, though…" Geoff says. Bridgette smiles at this comment and Geoff doesn't say anything else about the trip. Bridgette drops Duncan, Tristan and Xavier off at their homes.

"I'll see you around," Duncan says as he gets out of the car.

"Yeah," Geoff replies, but they both know they won't be contacting each other for a get together any time soon.

Over the next week Geoff tries contacting Blaineley in every way possible, including through her agent and the network that features The Puppy Bachelorette Goes Vegas. Finally he gets a call from Blaineley.

"Geoff, would you stop calling me? I don't have time for this." She says into the phone.

"Blaineley, I really need to talk to you! I can't be married to you, we have to get a divorce." Geoff says worriedly.

"We can't get a divorce Geoff!" Blaineley says.

"You don't understand, I want to marry Bridgette!"

"No, you don't understand!" Blaineley says exasperatedly, "we can't get a divorce, because we aren't really married okay? Now stop harassing me!" she hangs up the phone.

* * *

"I thought she was lying to me, or that she didn't realise Vegas marriages are legit. I didn't realise she was already married to Chris!" Geoff says to Bridgette as they lay side by side in the cave. "I'm such an idiot! I should've told you. I should've investigated it more. I guess I didn't realise getting married meant so much to you. I'm so sorry."

"I know you are," Bridgette says. It's not forgiveness but it's enough for now.

"What a touching story!" comes Heather's voice from somewhere nearby. "I assume Chef is here somewhere too?"

"Yeah," sighs Geoff. At least he got to spend a little time with Bridgette uninterrupted. There is a silence as Heather makes her way over to them and lays next to Bridgette, and in that silence they hear someone sobbing.

"Chef?" Geoff wonders.

"I just don't see why you two can't work it out!" Chef sobs.

* * *

Duncan had watched Heather go into the cave and he feels she's been in there too long for Chef not to be there too so he approaches the cave himself. Sure enough he finds the group of people lying down at the back of the cave. He lays down next to Heather who moved closer to Bridgette so she doesn't have to touch him.

"Took you long enough man!" says Geoff.

"I got distracted," says Duncan. Geoff snickers. Duncan rolls his eyes although no one can see him. "Courtney is still avoiding me. I just want to talk to her! Ask her why she was pretending to be engaged to Noah."

"She doesn't really want to talk to you," says Heather.

"I got that much, thanks. You must know why she did it though?" Duncan says hopefully. Heather huffs in annoyance at not knowing the gossip.

"No! She refuses to talk about it!"

"Bridgette?" Duncan asks.

"No, sorry." She replies. Duncan sighs.

"Why do you think then? I mean does anyone have any idea?" Duncan asks, feeling desperate.

"Maybe she feels insecure about being single," suggests Bridgette.

"That doesn't really seem like her…" says Duncan.

"Maybe it was a dare!" Geoff says. Duncan sighs again and doesn't bother pointing out how ridiculous that idea is.

"I just don't get why she didn't tell me… I mean let me think she was cheating on her fiancé with me." He speculates.

"Seriously? You don't get that? You really are an idiot." Heather says.

"What do you mean?" Duncan asks.

"Never mind!" Heather snaps.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Clearly Courtney didn't tell Duncan her engagement was fake because he's the reason she was faking it in the first place! Still doesn't explain why Noah agreed to it though."

* * *

It isn't long until Courtney hears voices coming from the cave and discovers the others lying at the back of the cave.

"Who's here?" she whispers, wondering who found Chef before her.

"Geoff, Bridgette, Duncan and myself," replies Heather. Courtney screws up her nose in annoyance at the fact that she wasn't the first one there. Courtney lays down beside Duncan but when she realises who it is she moves as far away as possible while still being in the vicinity.

"Oh come on Princess, it's called sardines for a reason!" says Duncan. Courtney just moves even further away until she can't move any further because there's a boulder in the way. Everyone is silent for a while then until Tyler walks in and trips over Courtney.

"God Tyler! Watch where you're going!" Courtney hisses.

"Sorry!" Tyler apologises. "Move over will you? There's not much room here."

"Ugh!" Courtney moves a bit closer to Duncan and Tyler shimmies in between Courtney and the boulder. Apparently Tyler takes up a lot of room because Courtney finds herself crushed between Duncan and Tyler. At the moment she has is back to back with Tyler and facing Duncan. Butterflies fill her stomach as he leans his face in so their noses touch.

"Hey," Duncan whispers seductively.

"You two better not try anything while I'm lying here!" Heather warns.

"Ugh, as if!" Courtney turns so she has her back to Duncan, but it doesn't matter to him, he's just enjoying being close to her.

"Same goes to you Geoff and Bridgette!" says Heather.

"You've got nothing to worry about," Bridgette reassures her. They lay there in silence for a few minutes before Geoff starts to complain.

"This ground is so uncomfortable, couldn't you have picked a different hiding spot Chef?" he grumbles.

"Like up a tree?" Chef asks pointedly, knowing a tree would be even less comfortable to sit in for two hours.

"I'm so bored!" Tyler whines.

"Courtney should tell us a story," Heather suggests.

"What? Why me?" Courtney asks defensively.

"Because we all want to hear how and why you made a deal with Noah!" Heather replies. Courtney is silent for a moment.

"I'd don't think he'd like me to tell you," she says finally.

"Who cares? You're not engaged to him, you can do what you like." Heather convinces. Courtney sighs and begins her tale.

* * *

FLASHBACK: 3 months ago.

Courtney walks into the university and asks reception where she can find Professor Rufus Martin. She normally sees clients at the office only, but this man was very busy and she knew that if she could win his case she'd have people begging her to represent them. Not that she didn't already, but she would definitely gain more high profile clients and probably could ask for more money, maybe even start her own law firm.

She knocks on the door that reception had told her to go to and waits for an answer.

"Hang on a second!" comes a vaguely familiar voice. "Okay, enter!" Courtney opens the door and sitting at one of the two desks in the large office is Noah. She doesn't recognise him at first, not really having had anything to do with him when they were both on Total Drama.

"Courtney?" comes a voice from behind her. Sitting on a couch against the wall is Owen.

"Owen?" she asks incredulously. She could never forget that big oaf. That's when she realises who the other guy is. "Noah?"

"Courtney, what are you doing here?" Noah asks.

"I'm here to see Professor Rufus Martin. Am I in the wrong office?" she asks.

"No, that's his desk there," Noah points to the desk closest to the window. "He had to duck out for a few minutes but he should be back soon… you can wait in here if you like," he gestures to the couch Owen is sitting on. Courtney goes over and sits near him.

"So… do you guys work here then?" Courtney asks.

"I do… Owen's just visiting," Noah replies. Owen gives Courtney a small smile and shrugs.

"You guys are still friends then? That's nice," Courtney comments.

"Uh, yeah, we are…" says Noah with a glance at Owen. He looks down at whatever papers he has on his desk and starts writing something. The three of them sit in awkward silence for a minute until Noah looks up at Courtney. "So, have you kept in contact with anyone from the show?" he asks. Courtney shakes her head.

"Not really… I mean I tried for a while but it's kind of hard. I'm so busy, I don't really have time for friends." She says. Noah nods thoughtfully.

"So… you're single?" Noah asks.

"Ah, Noah, I'm flattered but I'm not really looking for a relationship right now…" Courtney says.

"Relax, I'm not hitting on you," Noah rolls his eyes.

"Hmph," Courtney says feeling offended despite the fact that she doesn't want Noah to hit on her anyway. The door opens then and Rufus Martin walks in. Courtney stands up.

"Professor Martin?" she says.

"Yes! Sorry I'm late! Shall we get onto this then?" He gestures for her to sit in the seat at his desk while he goes and sits in his own seat behind the desk.

"Uh, Owen, do you want to go get something to eat?" Noah asks, standing up.

"Ooh, okay!" Owen agrees and the two of them leave.

An hour later, Courtney shakes the professor's hand, feeling confident in the case, and gets up to leave, just as Noah and Owen walk back into the office.

"Courtney!" Noah says, "Could we talk to you before you leave?"

"Sure…" Courtney agrees in confusion. She can't imagine why either of these guys would want to talk to her, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to stay. Professor Martin leaves to go to his next class and Courtney sits across from Noah and looks at him expectantly. Noah and Owen glance nervously at each other.

"Look… Courtney… I think I'm just going to get straight to the point. My parents are very traditional and don't really approve of…" he glances and Owen and Owen nods. "They don't approve of Owen." Noah confesses. It takes Courtney a second to get it.

"Wait… you and Owen?" she asks, making sure she's got it right. It could be awkward if that wasn't the case. But Noah nods, indicating she's right.

"I assume you've also been invited back for a TotalDramaIsland reunion season?" he asks.

"Of course! It would be nothing with out me," Courtney assures him. Noah rolls his eyes.

"Uh huh… anyway… my parents are getting really suspicious of me and Owen and I'm afraid if my parents see us on the show together they'll figure it out." Noah explains. Courtney can't see where he's going with this but she waits patiently for him to tell her. "I invented a girlfriend about six months ago but my parents are getting sick of knowing nothing about her and never meeting her, since she's not real."

"Uh huh…" Courtney nods, starting to realise what Noah is asking of her, but waiting till he actually says it out loud.

"I was saying to Owen the other day that I need someone to introduce them to and to tell everyone about when we're back on the show. And then you turn up so I thought maybe... do you think you could pretend to be my fiancée?" Noah finally pops the question. Courtney just looks at him for a moment.

"Noah… you realise you can't hide this from your parents forever…" Courtney cautions.

"I know! I just need a little longer." Noah glances at Owen again.

"Please Courtney," says Owen, "I mean we could do something for you too…" he pleads. Courtney considers their proposal. It's a risky scam that could go wrong at any moment, but she can definitely think of her own reasons to enter into the agreement. Besides, would there be any real consequences if the truth did get found out? Crippling embarrassment maybe, but she was no stranger to that, she'd been humiliated on television before. She and Noah were both smart though, surely they could keep it a secret for the short time they'd be on the show.

"Okay, I'll do it." She agrees.

"Seriously? That's great!" says Owen. "But what do you want in return?" Courtney thinks for a moment. She could do it for nothing, it was beneficial to her already, but she can't pass up the opportunity.

"If either of you win the million, I want a share of it." She says. Noah and Owen look at each other knowingly, as if it were obvious she'd say that.

"Fine," Noah agrees.

"I'll draw up the contract myself and bring it back here tomorrow, does that sound okay?" she asks. Noah nods and Courtney stands up and leaves.

* * *

"Wait, so Noah and Owen are a couple?!" Duncan says, incredulous.

"Courtney!" yells Noah from the mouth of the cave. "You told them!" He shines a torch on the group and walk towards them, Owen close behind.

"Where'd you get a flashlight?" asks Tyler. Noah ignores him.

"How could you?!" Noah says, outraged.

"I'm sorry! They really wanted to know!" Courtney says apologetically. Noah shakes his head in disappointment.

"Yeah, but you still didn't tell us why _you _wanted to pretend to be engaged!" Duncan protests. "Noah, maybe you can tell us for revenge."

"I'd love to, but she never told me." Noah folds his arms. "Although looking at you two right now I think I could guess." Noah raises his eyebrows. The others look at Duncan and Courtney and see that despite the fact that Tyler had rolled away during the story, Courtney is still as close to Duncan as humanly possible, and in fact his arm is draped over her waist and their feet are intertwined. Courtney pushes herself away in disgust.

"Well anyway, I guess the challenge is over!" she says and marches out of the cave. The rest of them slowly follow her out and eventually they all meet down at the dock of the shame where Chris awaits them.

"Well done all of you on finding Chef. Unfortunately, Owen, you were the last one to find him so that means you'll be leaving us tonight. It's been nice knowing you man." Chris holds out his hand for Owen to shake but Owen grabs him and hugs him. He bursts into tears.

"What if I never see you again?" he sobs.

"Relax buddy, I've a feeling we'll never be done with Total Drama," says Geoff as he joins in the hug. He was hoping to start a group hug but no one else joins in so he awkwardly goes back to the rest of the group. Owen boards the boat of losers and the final seven wave him goodbye.

**Note- Sorry this chapter took so long, I had a lot of trouble finding the motivation to write it. Hope you liked it anyway. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!**


	17. Til Elimination Do Us Part

**Chapter Seventeen – Till Elimination Do Us Part**

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"Great, now my parents will know that I'm gay. I know I had to tell them eventually, but this is not exactly how I wanted them to find out. And now Owen's gone and I have to put up with the rest of these losers alone."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Clearly I'm missing something. Noah and Heather both seem to have figured out why Courtney wanted to pretend to be engaged to Noah, but neither of them will let me in on the secret."

* * *

"You guys were pretty good at acting," Bridgette says to Courtney. "I mean, that whole fight with Noah and Duncan, what was up with that?"

"Noah and I had just talked about Heather being on to us and we needed to act more like a couple, then that opportunity presented itself so Noah took it. It may have been a little over the top but it worked for a little while." Courtney shrugs. She and Bridgette walk out from the cabin and join the others on the dock, who are waiting for Chris to tell them the challenge for the day. They haven't had breakfast yet but Chris told them that would come later.

"Took you long enough!" Heather snaps. "I had to listen to these losers," she points a thumb at the boys.

"Uh, sorry Heather…" Bridgette says uncertainly with a glance at Courtney. Courtney shrugs.

CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette

"Is it just me, or does Heather think that we're friends now? I don't know about Courtney but there's no way I'd ever be friends with Heather. Heather cares about one person and one person only; Heather."

* * *

"Okay campers! Today's challenge is going to be so fun! For me that is. Probably not for you," Chris announces. "Today I am going to pair you up…" the campers all look at each other nervously. "and you will have to act as a married couple for the day!" Chris grins. The campers all groan.

"I really wish the network had let Chris do his dating show!" Noah whines.

"But wait, how does that work? There are an odd number of people!" Courtney points out.

"I'm getting to that! Now for your pairs." Chris smiles evilly.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Knowing my luck, and the way Chris thinks, I'm going to be paired with Duncan. This is so not going to be fun!"

* * *

"Bridgette and Geoff will be married," says Chris. Geoff gives Bridgette a small smile. She looks at him dubiously. "Tyler and Heather!" Heather folds her arms.

"Figures." She rolls her eyes, thinking the same as everyone else, that Chris is playing matchmaker again and she and Tyler are both already attached.

"Courtney and…" Chris pauses for dramatic effect. Courtney glares at Duncan, knowing what's coming. Duncan smirks back. "Noah!" Chris finishes.

"Huh?" Duncan says in surprise. Everyone else is as surprised as him. Chris chuckles.

"I thought it would be interesting to find out what it would have been like if Noah and Courtney really got married!" he says.

"So who's my partner?" Duncan asks. Chris chuckles again.

"Oh, you're going to love this!" he smirks. "Re-entering the competition as Duncan's wife for the day is… Gwen!" A boat pulls up to the dock and sure enough Gwen steps off. Everyone stares at her in disbelief.

"Hey guys," she waves a little shyly.

"She can't come back! This is ridiculous!" Heather stomps her foot.

"She can if I say she can and anyway this challenge won't work without her, so shut up!" Chris says. Gwen walks over to Duncan and Courtney watches her, eyes wide. "Now if you'll avert your attention over there," he points towards the cabins, "you'll see four little cottages. These are your houses for the day." Over by the cabins stand four little white cottages with white picket fences and tiny gardens. They would really be quite adorable if everyone didn't resent the challenge so much. "Here's a list of things you need to do today." He hands each couple a list.

"It says here 'take kids to school'," Tyler reads.

"And here are your kids!" Chris gestures to Chef who is approaching with a wagon of potato sacks. "You get two each. Whichever couple acts least like a married couple in this challenge will be eliminated immediately. Now get your kids and get to your houses!" Chef gives each pair two potato sacks with faces drawn on. Each sack has a tag on it with the gender of the child and a space for a name. The contestants grab their kids and go into their cottages.

"I'm going to make a schedule for all the things we have to do, you can name the children," says Courtney to Noah as she begins drawing up a grid and putting in times. Noah shrugs and writes 'Po' on the female child and 'Tato' on the male child. Courtney is done with the schedule in five minutes and after rolling her eyes at Noah's choice of names reads off the first thing on the list.

"The first thing we have to do is get the kids ready and take them to school," she declares. "Get some food out of the fridge and feed it to them."

"They're potato sacks…" Noah points out.

"Do you want our children to go hungry?" Courtney demands. Noah just rolls his eyes and gets two apples out of the fridge and puts them in front of the children.

* * *

"I need a drink!" says Heather.

"I don't think there's any alcohol in here…" Tyler looks around their kitchen.

"I can't drink it anyway, you idiot, I'm pregnant!" Heather puts her hands on her hips. "I'm over this challenge already! You get the kids ready for school, I'm going to lie down." Heather walks into the other room of the two room cottage to find a room with a bed and she lies down on it. Tyler looks at the kids and decides the first thing he is going to do is name them. He names the female potato sack Lindsay and the male sack Alejandro, for Heather.

"Okay!" he says to himself looking at the list. He gets some bowls and cereal out of the cupboard then goes to get the milk from the fridge but as he goes to pour it on the cereal he spills it all over himself. "Aw man!"

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"So when I got voted off I really thought Courtney was behind it, but after finding out what really happened, I feel kind of bad. Chris offered to let me come back but only if I would be married to Duncan for this challenge. I'm pretty sure Courtney is over him, so it should be fine, right?"

* * *

"So…" Duncan says to Gwen rapping his knuckles on the kitchen table, worried this might be awkward since he and Gwen haven't really spoken since she broke up with him on Total Drama All-Stars.

"Let's get started on this list shall we?" Gwen suggests. "First order of business is naming the kids… what do you reckon?"

"How about Flame and Steel?" Duncan puts forward. Gwen raises her eyebrows.

"Uh, Duncan, can we name them normal names? Like John and Sally?" Gwen asks.

"That's no fun. Kids have to have quirky names, not something everyone else has. Plus, they're potato sacks, not real people so who gives a shit?" Duncan says.

"Fine, Flame and Steel it is… which one's the girl?"

"Flame." Duncan decides. Gwen writes the names on the sacks. "Now what?" Duncan asks. Gwen glances down the list.

"We feed them and take them to school." Gwen reads.

"I'm on it!" Duncan opens a cupboard and finds a packet of jellybeans and starts throwing them at the potato sacks.

"You can't feed kids jellybeans for breakfast!" Gwen scolds.

"I can if they're potato sacks," Duncan rolls his eyes and continues throwing jellybeans, as well as eating a few himself. Gwen sighs.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Man, Gwen used to be cool. Since she's a mom now, she thinks she knows everything about kids. I bet the old Gwen would have though Flame and Steel were great names and that jellybeans were a great breakfast."

* * *

Geoff watches Bridgette adoringly as she spoons cereal up to one of the children's mouths. Bridgette becomes aware of his gaze and decides to speak to make herself less uncomfortable.

"Do you want to give them names?" she asks.

"Sure!" agrees Geoff. "How about Troy for the boy?" he suggests.

"I love that name," Bridgette smiles.

"I know…" Geoff says sadly. "Look Bridgette, I know you're still mad at me and I understand why." He sits in the seat next to her and she stops feeding the potato sack and turns to him. "But I love you so much, and I can't stand to not be with you any longer. I know you love me too. What's the point in not being with the one you love? I will do anything it takes to make you see how sorry I am and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you, even if you never forgive me. But please, please if you have any intention of forgiving me or taking me back in the near future, let's not waste any more time being apart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I can't think of a better time to start than right now." Geoff looks at her hopefully. She closes her eyes and creases her brow for a second then looks at him with her big green eyes and nods.

"Really?" Geoff says, a huge grin spreading on his face. She nods again and Geoff grabs her by the waist and stands up, lifting her up in the air before bringing her back down to him and kissing her. She brings her hands to his face and kisses him back as a tear rolls down her face. Geoff pulls away for a second and wipes the tear away with his thumb. "Are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

"Yes," Bridgette nods, "I just didn't realise how much I needed to hear you say that." She pulls him back into a kiss which he returns. He lifts her up again and lays her down on the tables, careful she doesn't land in the cereal. He climbs on top of her and starts kissing her neck.

"Geoff!" Bridgette laughs, "Not in front of the kids!" Geoff stands up sheepishly and offers his hand to Bridgette to help her off the table and they continue with the challenge.

* * *

Through the window of the cottage Duncan sees Courtney and Noah pick up their kids and take them to school. Duncan quickly throws Flame over his shoulder and darts out the door. Gwen grabs Steel and follows him. Heather and Tyler are standing out the front of their house.

"Seriously Tyler, you take the kids to school! Do I have to do everything?" Heather yells.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I found out what Tyler named the potato sacks and I am not happy. How dare he name a sack of potatoes after my husband? Gross! And Lindsay is such a tacky name. My children are going to have classy names like Sebastian or Roberto or something. I haven't thought of a girl's name yet."

* * *

"Well, I was the one…" Tyler protests.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Heather snaps. She turns her attention to the couples who have just exited their cottages with their kids.

"Wow, some men are just so useless!" she says to Courtney.

"Tell me about it!" Courtney agrees.

"Hey Courtney, taking your kids to school?" Duncan calls.

"Obviously!" she huffs.

"Cool… do you want some help?" he asks.

"I'm fine thanks. Hi, Gwen." Courtney nods to her coolly.

"Hey Courtney," Gwen smiles.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Duncan goes from smug bastard to grovelling idiot in two seconds. It's pathetic. If he really wants Courtney back he's going to have to do better than that!"

* * *

Heather storms back inside her cottage and leaves Tyler to drag Lindsay and Alejandro to school.

"What are your kids named?" Gwen asks Courtney as they walk towards a sign that says "SCHOOL" that is probably 100 metres away. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Po and Tato. Noah named them. I would have thought someone so smart could have come up with better names."

"I can hear you, you know." Noah says from behind her. Courtney ignores him.

"Better than our names. Duncan named them Flame and Steel." Gwen laughs. Courtney frowns at her.

"How are Po and Tato better than Flame and Steel?" she snaps. Gwen is taken aback.

"I don't know… I just…" Gwen stammers. Courtney huffs and stalks on ahead.

"Hurry up Noah!" she yells back and Noah sighs and walks a little faster. Duncan sidles up to Gwen.

"Ha, Courtney likes my names!" he pokes out his tongue at Gwen.

"I seriously doubt that. She's just mad at me for some unknown reason." Gwen reasons.

"She's just jealous!" Duncan says happily. Gwen raises her eyebrows at him and shakes her head.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"I'm not really surprised that Duncan still isn't over Courtney. It was one of the reasons I broke up with him all those years ago. It's kind of hard to date a guy who's obsessed with someone else. But does he honestly believe she'd ever take him back?"

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette exit their cottage, each with a potato sack in one arm, their other hands being used to hold each other. The others are already on their way back from the school sign.

"Wait, are you guys back together?" asks Duncan.

"Yep!" says Geoff happily, giving Bridgette a kiss. Everyone cheers and whistles and Bridgette blushes with a smile. Heather comes out of the cottage.

"What is everyone cheering about?" she demands.

"Geoff and Bridgette are back together," Courtney tells her.

"About time!" Heather says, rolling her eyes. "Tyler, what the hell is taking you so long?" she says and stomps back inside. Tyler sighs and follows her as the others give him a sympathetic look. Geoff and Bridgette set off to take their kids to school and everyone else goes back into their cottages.

"Alright the next thing we have to do is clean the kitchen and mow the lawns," Courtney says to Noah. "I'll mow the lawns, you do the dishes."

"There are no dishes, I fed the kids apples." Noah points out.

"Well just dust something then." Courtney huffs.

"If we really want to act like a married couple, you should do the cleaning and I should go and play golf. Isn't that how they usually do it?" Noah says.

"You hate golf and I hate cleaning so just do as I say, okay?" Courtney walks outside to find the lawnmower. Noah sighs and gets a duster out of the cupboard.

Gwen looks at the list and sees that they have to mow the lawn and clean the kitchen. She's not sure how the kitchen got so messy when they've literally spent ten minutes in there, but she knows she doesn't want to clean it.

"I'm going to mow the lawns!" she says and leaves Duncan to clean. He looks around the kitchen and then sits on one of the chairs and puts his feet up and takes a nap.

Outside, Gwen sees Courtney trying to start her lawnmower.

"Hey Courtney!" she waves. Courtney looks up and revs her lawnmower to life and begins to mow the non-existent lawn. Gwen sighs and does the same.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"Is Courtney really mad at me or am I imagining it? I can't think of what I could've done to make her angry, but who knows with Courtney?"

* * *

"Heather, you can't make me do everything!" Tyler complains after Heather has informed him that she will neither clean the kitchen nor mow the lawns as they are jobs for 'peasants'.

"Ugh, fine!" she snatches the list from him. "I'll fix the sink while you do the other two things, and we can do the grocery shopping together." She concedes. Tyler nods and goes outside to mow the lawns.

* * *

Geoff and Bridgette are trying to clean the kitchen together but they keep getting distracted by each other.

"Stop it!" Bridgette laughs as Geoff stops her from the chore she's doing by kissing her for the millionth time. "Maybe we should do separate chores if we're going to get anything done!"

"Okay, okay, I'll be good!" Geoff grins walking to the other side of the kitchen. He starts polishing a doorknob. "Whoa there's a bedroom in here!" says Geoff opening the door that leads off the kitchen. Bridgette goes to his side and looks in. Geoff looks at the list. "We have to clean it." He looks up at the messy bedroom and screws up his nose.

"I have a better idea," says Bridgette with a seductive smile pulling him into the bedroom by his shirt and shutting the door.

* * *

Gwen finishes mowing the lawns and goes back inside. Duncan hears her turn of the lawnmower and quickly scrambles to grab something to pretend to clean. He goes to the sink and starts washing nothing. Gwen doesn't notice that he's not actually doing anything, instead she just grabs the list and looks down it to see what they should do next. Duncan looks up through the kitchen window to see Courtney walk inside. He stops pretending to wash dishes and just watches her. He doesn't notice Gwen walk up behind him till she starts to talk.

"What are you doing?" she asks. Duncan starts.

"Uhh… nothing!" he says and goes back to pretending to wash things.

"Duncan, there's not even any water in that sink. Do you seriously have it that bad that you will just watch her through a window?" Gwen asks. Duncan quits pretending to wash and turns to Gwen.

"I don't have anything any worse than anyone else," he says.

"You're not making any sense." Gwen says, confused. Duncan sighs.

"She'll come around eventually, right?" he asks, then he realises who he's talking to. "Sorry, I shouldn't be asking you."

"Relax Duncan, I broke up with you, remember? I'm way over you. I'm actually back with Trent now." Gwen rolls her eyes.

"Right. I just… I don't know what else to do. What should I do?" he asks, sounding defeated.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but I don't think there's anything you can do. I think you missed your chance Duncan." Gwen says matter-of-factly.

"Seriously?" Duncan asks, surprised. Gwen nods. Duncan looks crestfallen and Gwen feels sorry for him for a second.

"Come on," she says, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the cottage, "let's go do the grocery shopping."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I really thought Courtney might still have feelings for me, but Gwen would know better than me, right?"

* * *

Courtney makes an incomprehensible noise of protest as she watches Gwen hold Duncan's hand and walk outside.

"Jealousy is not a good look on you," says Noah. Courtney whips her head around and narrows her eyes at him.

"I'm not jealous!" she snaps.

"Sure you're not." Noah rolls his eyes. Courtney purses her lips.

"I'm not jealous, I don't even like Duncan!" she asserts.

"You tell yourself that, but you and I both know why you pretended to be engaged to me." Noah crosses his legs and swings back on the kitchen chair. Courtney heads toward the door and kicks the chair out from under him as she passes.

* * *

At the "grocery store", which was a shack that had been erected with a few shelves inside, Heather and Tyler are arguing over what crackers to pick.

"Oh my god Tyler, they're all the same, just pick one already!" Heather shouts.

"They aren't the same! The ones Lindsay likes are in a red packet, but I don't remember which one…" Tyler has a packet in each hand, trying to remember which ones are the right ones.

"Lindsay isn't even here! For god's sake!" Heather snatches one of the packets and throws it in the basket.

"Hey!" Tyler says.

"Let's just go already!" Heather demands. Tyler sighs and follows her to the "counter" which is a table with Chef standing behind it. They purchase their items and head out just as Duncan and Gwen enter. Gwen starts throwing things in a basket and Duncan sits on the counter near Chef and puts his head in his hands.

"I ain't got time to deal with your problems! Pull yourself together!" Chef slaps Duncan on the back. At that moment Courtney walks in and grabs a basket. She walks past Duncan with her nose in the air and begins putting things in the basket.

"Where's Noah?" Gwen asks, approaching Courtney.

"He was annoying me, so I left him behind." Courtney answers. Courtney continues her shopping and Gwen follows her.

"Isn't it great that I'm back? Now we can form an alliance with Bridgette and get rid of Heather." Says Gwen.

"What's wrong with Heather?" Courtney asks.

"You're kidding, right?" Gwen laughs.

"No." Courtney says shortly.

"She's the reason I got eliminated! Plus she's a total bitch." Gwen points out. Courtney shrugs.

"So what?"

"Courtney, listen to me, you can't trust Heather!" Gwen warns.

"Oh, and I can trust you?" Courtney says pointedly.

"Yes! When have I ever let you down?" Gwen says. Courtney gives Gwen a death stare and throws the last thing in her basket. Gwen looks sheepish. Courtney turns and heads towards Chef. "Well, apart from that one time! And I thought we were past that!" Gwen follows Courtney to the counter.

"Get out of my way, Duncan!" is all Courtney says, annoyed she has to interact with him at all. Duncan doesn't budge, he just folds his arms and smirks at her annoyingly. She huffs and tries to ignore how close Duncan is to her. Chef "scans" her items and she gives him the fake money she'd found in the cottage.

"Courtney?" Gwen calls after her as Courtney exits the "grocery store" without a glance back.

"Now who's got it bad?" asks Duncan. Gwen hits him in the head.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Courtney is so jealous! Gwen can think what she likes."

* * *

Heather and Tyler go to the school sign to pick up their kids, followed by Courtney and Noah.

"I haven't seen Bridgette and Geoff for a while," says Heather to no one in particular.

"Wow, you're right… I wonder where they are…" says Tyler. Courtney and Heather look at each other knowingly and Noah rolls his eyes. "What?" says Tyler, noticing the looks.

"They just got back together, and there's a bedroom in the cottage, where do you think they are?" Courtney says. Heather snickers.

"Ohh…" says Tyler, his eyes widening. The four of them grab their kids and walk back to their cottages, just as Duncan and Gwen appear to pick up their kids. Courtney glares at them as they walk by.

"Don't worry, with any luck they'll go home today." Heather says.

"I haven't seemed to have much luck lately," says Courtney.

"We could sabotage them then!" Heather suggests.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Okay, this is really starting to creep me out. Heather has been way too nice lately, and I don't like it!"

* * *

Bridgette rolls off the bed and starts putting her clothes back on.

"Come on, we better finish the challenge if we don't want to go home," she says. Geoff groans.

"I don't care about the challenge," he says, pulling Bridgette back onto the bed. She laughs and gives him a kiss.

"There will be plenty of time for this," she says.

"Fine," Geoff sighs and follows Bridgette's lead as they get dressed and race through all the tasks they haven't yet done.

* * *

The four couples stand outside their houses, having completed everything that the list required them to do. Chris walks up and grins at them.

"Alright, it's time for the verdict! You all completed every task on the list so well done. But the winners of this challenge are… Heather and Tyler!" Chris announces. "Heather you were the epitome of a bitchy, bossy wife, and Tyler you were the pushover husband. Well done. Your reward is you will both get to spend a night away from the island, and Alejandro and Lindsay will be meeting you at your hotel. Have fun!" Chris gestures to his helicopter and Heather and Tyler don't hesitate to run to it and climb in.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Obviously I knew I was going to win. I am the best wife of all time."

* * *

"Now for the losers!" says Chris. "Courtney you did pretty well, considering your husband is gay. You and Noah are safe." Courtney smiles smugly and Noah looks like he couldn't care less. Chris stares at Duncan and Gwen and then at Bridgette and Geoff. "Duncan and Gwen." Chris says. Duncan and Gwen look at each other nervously. "You are safe for another week, Bridgette and Geoff you are going home on the boat of losers!"

"What? Why!?" cried Courtney, outraged.

"Because they were too in love! Married couples don't have that much sex, and I would know, because I'm married!" Chris says. Courtney seems more upset about Bridgette and Geoff's elimination that Bridgette and Geoff do. Bridgette gives Courtney a hug.

"Don't let anyone get in your way this time," Bridgette whispers. "You're going to win this one." She takes Geoff's hand and they board the boat together.

* * *

After Bridgette and Geoff have left and Chris has flown Heather and Tyler to civilisation, Courtney, Gwen, Duncan and Noah head back to the cabins. Chef drives a bulldozer into the four cottages.

"Courtney, can we talk?" asks Gwen once they're in the cabin. Courtney sighs.

"Fine. What do you want to talk about?" she concedes.

"Why are you mad at me? I thought we were all good." Gwen says.

"I'm not mad." Courtney says.

"Yeah you are," Gwen replies. "Is it about Duncan?"

"No! God, why does everyone always think everything is about Duncan? Nothing is about him! I don't care about Duncan at all." Courtney snaps.

"Well he thinks it is…" Gwen says.

"Obviously he would! He's as self-centred and egotistical as ever!" Courtney huffs.

"I agree."

"You do?" Courtney says, surprised.

"Yes! Courtney, I don't like Duncan at all, at least not in the way you think. I promise you I am so done with him. I'm with Trent now, and things are going really great this time." Gwen explains.

"Well, I'm happy for you, but it's no concern of mine whether you like Duncan or not." Courtney asserts.

"Okay," says Gwen, "I just wanted you to know."

"Okay." Courtney says. They sit awkwardly in silence for a second before looking at each other and grinning. "I'm sorry!" Courtney says. She goes over to Gwen and gives her a hug.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"Well what do you know, Courtney does still have feelings for Duncan, whether she'll admit it or not. I'm glad I cleared the air though, things are much more pleasant when you have Courtney on your side!"

* * *

Courtney and Gwen spend half an hour gossiping and catching up before Chris bursts in and interrupts them.

"Chris?" they chorus, confused.

"Gwen, please pack your bags, you'll be leaving the island immediately!" Chris declares.

"Why?!" Gwen cries.

"Because I lied about you being back in the competition. I just needed you for this challenge!" Chris chuckles evilly.

"No! You promised!" Gwen says.

"And when have I ever kept my promises?" Chris points out. "Now pack your bags and get on the boat or we'll have to drag you out." Gwen sighs and starts packing her things. Courtney helps her and Chris leaves them to it.

"I really hope Chris dies a truly horrific and painful death one day," Courtney says. Gwen laughs.

"Me too!" she smiles. Courtney and Gwen walk out to the dock together and hug again before Gwen gets on the boat. "Well, it was fun while it lasted!" the boat pulls away from the dock and Courtney waves goodbye.

**Note - Wow I've had a lot of really positive feedback over the last few days so thank you everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter done, but what with Christmas and all that I have been a little distracted. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it! There will be four more chapters of this fanfic so if there is anything you would like me to include or there's any unanswered questions etc please let me know because I don't want to leave any loose ends. Thanks again for all the kind words!**


	18. Things that go Bump in the Night

**Chapter Eighteen – Things that go Bump in the Night**

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Well, Bridgette's gone. Eliminated due to making out with boys, _again. _You really think she'd learn."

* * *

Heather lies in the hotel bed with Alejandro's arm around her. She traces her finger around in circles across his chest, feeling quite satisfied with herself.

"What do you think of the name Sebastian?" she asks.

"I like it," Alejandro says. "Have you thought of a girl's name also?"

"Not yet. Maybe you can think of the girl's name," Heather suggests.

"Mmm," says Alejandro. Heather can feel his chest vibrating as he speaks. "Okay, I will think of a name." Alejandro agrees. Heather looks over at the clock on the bedside table.

"I have to go soon," she sighs.

"Don't go, we don't need the money. We can just stay here." Alejandro cuddles Heather in closer to him.

"You know I'll never give up on a competition!" Heather points out. Alejandro laughs.

"I know, and that is why I love you." He kisses the top of her head and they roll out of bed.

* * *

_Courtney sits alone in the cabin, strategising for how to make it to the final four. Heather is still away, probably having an amazing night with Alejandro. Suddenly there is a knock on the door._

_ "Go away!" Courtney calls. She does not need to be disturbed right now, she just needs some peace and quiet. The knocker doesn't listen however and simply walks inside the cabin. Courtney looks up to see Duncan standing there. _

_ "What are you doing here?" she snaps. _

_ "I just wanted to see you," Duncan replies. _

_ "Well you've seen me, so now you can leave." Courtney turns back to her plans._

_ "Courtney…" Duncan starts. He walks over to her and grabs the plans from her hands and throws them on the ground. She stands up with her hands on her hips. "Enough," she says, irritated. "Leave me alone, okay?"_

_ "I can't," he says and he grabs her wrists and pulls her to him, seizing her lips with his own. She lets out a whimper as he bites her lip and she can't help but kiss him back. He puts his hands under her shirt on her waist and starts kissing down her neck slowly. He lays her down on her bed as he undoes the buttons on her shirt, never ceasing the kisses. _

_ "Duncan," she whispers as he reaches her breasts._

_ "Mm?" _

_ "Don't stop okay?"_

_ "Never again," he replies._

The door of the cabin bangs open and wakes Courtney from her slumber. Heather walks in the door and throws her bag on the ground. Courtney groans as she remembers her dream and puts her face in her pillow.

"Bad dream?" Heather asks.

"The worst!" Courtney replies.

"You want to talk about it?" Heather goes over and sits on Courtney's bed. Courtney looks up at her suspiciously.

"Why would you care?" she asks dubiously. Heather looks surprised.

"Why wouldn't I? We're friends, aren't we?" Heather gives her hair a flick.

"Are we? I didn't think you had any friends. As far as I'm concerned we have an alliance but I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you," Courtney says.

"Huh." Heather gets up. "You're right. All I need from you is an alliance. I'll see you at the challenge." She stalks out of the cabin.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Was it just my imagination or did Heather actually seem kind of offended?"

* * *

It's dark by the time Chris calls them for the challenge. They stand around the campfire where they normally have the eliminations.

"Hey Princess," says Duncan when he sees Courtney.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," she says, glaring at him. He stands next to her so his shoulder is touching hers. She moves away slightly, blushing at the thought of the dream she'd had that morning. Luckily Duncan doesn't notice but Heather does and she raises one eyebrow. Courtney ignores her.

"Welcome to today's challenge, final five! Congratulations on making it this far!" says Chris. "Tonight the challenge has a theme: Halloween!"

"Yeah!" says Tyler, giving a fist pump, "I love Halloween!"

"At this very moment a Halloween fair is being set up back near the cabins. You will have to complete a series of tasks and the first person to complete all the tasks successfully will win invincibility! First, you will enter the fortune telling booth and have your fortune told. Second is apple bobbing, you must get three apples from the bucket of water with only your mouth. Then you will have to find your way through a hall of mirrors. Last but not least is a haunted house! Spend twenty minutes in the haunted house, get out alive and meet back here. Like I said, invincibility goes to the first one to arrive back here, but there is another way you can win invincibility. Hidden somewhere in the haunted house there is an invincibility pass. Find it, and you could also win invincibility." Chris explains. He then leads the campers back to where the cabins used to stand. Someone had obviously worked very quickly because in the few minutes they'd been over at the campfire, the entire campground had been transformed. Halloween decorations including jack-o-lanterns, cobwebs and fairy lights are hanging from posts that have been erected. There is a tent directly in front of them and behind the tent is the apple bobbing, then the hall of mirrors and right at the very back is a huge spooky looking mansion.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"This show gets more and more ridiculous. How on earth did they get that mansion there in two minutes?"

* * *

"On your marks! Get set! Go!" Chris says into his megaphone and the final five contestants take off into the tent. It's completely dark in the tent at first and all five of the campers stop dead and wonder what they're supposed to do next. All of a sudden a light appears at the far end of the tent, revealing what appears to be a woman wearing a scarf over her head, but on closer inspection it's just Chef. He's sitting at a table on which rests a crystal ball, a pack of cards and a cup and saucer. The contestants all look at each other before racing to be the first to have their fortune told. Tyler manages to reach the chair first but Heather snags it out from under him and sits down. The other four line up behind, with Courtney being straight after Heather, then Tyler, then Duncan, and last is Noah.

"Welcome to the Mystic Tent," says Chef statically. "I am Madame Mystical and I will tell you your future. You can choose the crystal ball, the cards or the tea leaves."

"Which one of those would you say is the most accurate?" Heather asks.

"None of them are accurate, fortune telling is a just con act," Noah says dryly.

"Whatever! I pick the cards." Heather folds her arms and Chef shuffles the cards. Courtney, Duncan, Tyler and Noah gather around Heather to see what her reading will be. Chef looks up and glares at them.

"You four! Get away! This is a private reading!" he shouts. The other four back away to the other side of the tent as Chef holds out the deck of cards to Heather. "Pick a card, any card!" he says.

"I thought this was a fortune telling, not a magic trick!" says Heather.

"Just pick one!"

"Ugh fine!" Heather randomly grabs a card from the deck and hands it to Chef. He places it down on the table and consults his fortune telling book.

"Five of clubs. This indicates new friendships or alliances." Chef reads. Heather glances at the other contestants dubiously. "Next!" shouts Chef. Heather races out of the tent and onto the apple bobbing. Courtney scoots into the chair opposite Chef.

"I pick the cards too," she says. Chef gives them another shuffle, putting the five of clubs back in the deck.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Obviously all fortune telling and psychic powers is ridiculous, but we had to do it, and the cards seemed like they'd be the quickest to get over and done with!"

* * *

Courtney pulls a card from the deck and Chef takes it from her and lays it face up on the table, revealing that it is a Queen of clubs. Chef consults his book again.

"A dark haired or confident woman may give you good advice," he tells her.

"Thanks!" Courtney immediately races off and Tyler takes her place.

"I think I want to try the crystal ball!" he decides. Chef grimaces.

CONFESSIONAL: Chef

"I ain't got no idea how to read a crystal ball, I ain't a real fortune teller! I better make something up."

* * *

"Uh..." Chef starts and looks at the crystal ball. He clears his throat and waves his hands over the ball. "I see in your future… a… tall dark stranger. Then… something bad will happen but it will work out okay!" Chef shrugs.

"Wow, that's interesting! Thanks, Chef!" Tyler takes the reading very seriously and exits the tent.

"I'll take the cards," says Duncan as he sits down. The card he pulls out is the five of spades.

"This indicates opposition or obstacles that are temporary, and may be a blessing in disguise!" Chef says dramatically, getting more into his role as the fortune teller. Duncan just rolls his eyes and runs out of the tent, hoping he isn't too far behind.

"Deal me in. And make it snappy, I don't have all day!" Noah says. Chef glares and slams a card down in front of Noah.

"Four of clubs. Beware of dishonesty and deceit and avoid blind acceptance of others." Chef tells him.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind." Noah says sarcastically before heading out to join the others.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"Please, everybody knows that fortunes are just broad statements that could apply to anyone. 'Don't trust anyone?' Uh, hello, I'm on a reality TV show, that's kinda obvious!"

* * *

By the time Noah reaches the apple bobbing, Heather is already fishing out her last apple, Courtney has just got her second one and Duncan also has one apple to his name. Tyler, however, hasn't had much luck and can't seem to get his first apple.

Heather runs towards the hall of mirrors, leaving the others behind her.

"See you later, losers!" she laughs as she runs through the entrance and promptly crashes into a mirror. "Ugh!" she shakes her head. She looks around, trying to see which way is a mirror and which way is a doorway. It is very dimly lit, making it look kind of spooky. Walking around with her hands in front of her, she finds that there are two ways she can go from here. She picks left and heads deeper into the hall of mirrors. Courtney is not too far behind her. She walks into the hall of mirrors and is confronted by her own reflection several times over.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"When Chris said hall of mirrors I thought he meant a hallway with different mirrors that make you look different shapes, not a maze with walls made of mirrors!"

* * *

Courtney looks up to see that the ceiling is also reflective. She reaches out to touch the wall and walks along, keeping one hand on the mirrors at all times so as not to crash or lose her way. It isn't long before Duncan also reaches the hall of mirrors and decides to go right.

* * *

"This is so lame. If I wasn't so close to a million dollars I wouldn't reduce myself to these childish challenges." Noah says after getting his second apple. Tyler has also finally got two apples.

"Why'd you even come back on this show if you hated it so much?" asks Tyler. Noah shrugs.

"It's all for the money." Both guys bob their heads back into the buckets of water and both of them come up with their third apple before racing off to the hall of mirrors. When they realise there is two directions to go in, after Tyler has tripped and crashed into his own reflection twice, they part ways.

As the contestants walk around the hall of mirrors it's hard to tell how much time has passed. Courtney continues to keep one hand on the wall as she twists and turns through the maze. Suddenly she notices a reflection other than her own in the mirror. She spins around, trying to figure out where he is, the mirrors making it difficult.

"Noah?" she says.

"Over here," he says. She turns to face the real Noah.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Courtney asks. Noah shakes his head.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"I realised that if I want to make it to the finals, I need to make an alliance. Or two."

* * *

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you have some kind of alliance with Heather." Noah says as he follows Courtney through the maze.

"I guess so," Courtney agrees.

"You know she's just going to backstab you as soon as she can," Noah hints.

"Probably. But it's better than no alliance at all," Courtney says.

"Why don't you and I make an alliance? We came onto this show together and I know we've had our differences, namely that you ratted me out on national TV, but I think I could look past that," Noah says. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"How good of you. Look, I'll be in an alliance with anyone who agrees to vote off Duncan. Deal?" Courtney says.

"Deal!"

* * *

Duncan reaches the haunted mansion first. There's no one else in sight as he climbs the stairs and prepares himself for whatever nasty tricks Chris and Chef have set up inside. He looks at the massive clock atop and iron post that stands at the front of the house. It reads three minutes to ten at the time he walks through the doors.

Heather, Courtney and Noah run out of the hall of mirrors as the clock strikes ten. Other than the eerie tolling of the clock, there is complete silence. The three of them look at each other competitively before entering the decaying mansion.

Tyler gets to the haunted house at five past ten. He doesn't know if he's first or last or somewhere in between, but it doesn't matter now. He has to stay in the house till twenty-five past ten or miss out on a chance at invincibility. As soon as he walks through the door he finds himself covered in cobwebs.

"Aw man!" he curses, brushing himself off. He takes two steps forward and the door slams shut behind him. He jumps and spins around, tripping over his own feet and falling down a flight of stairs and into the basement.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"We've got twenty minutes in this wreck of a house, I may as well have some fun while I'm in here. Might even find the invincibility pass."

* * *

There's hidden speakers somewhere in every room, playing eerie noises like howling wind, chains rattling and some kind of moaning creature. Duncan walks into a bedroom where a skeleton drops down in front of him. He jumps slightly then shakes his head at his own stupidity. The skeleton is pulled back to the ceiling as Duncan walks over to a wardrobe in the corner of the room. He opens the doors and starts going through it, looking in the pockets of the clothes for the invincibility pass.

* * *

Heather heads upstairs, treading carefully on the rickety staircase. The banister is barely there and every step seems like it's going to cave in as her foot hits it.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"The invincibility pass was obviously going to be in the most difficult place to get to, so I headed for the attic."

* * *

Once at the top of the staircase, Heather looks around for a trapdoor to the attic and it isn't long till she finds what she is looking for. She pulls down the trapdoor and is showered with spiders.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she screams, trying to shake and flick the spiders off. The scream rings through the house and everyone else stops what they are doing to wonder what is going on.

Noah is in a bathroom, going through the cabinet, trying to find the invincibility pass. When he hears the scream he drops a bottle of some kind of medication and a cockroach runs out.

"Urgh," he says, disgustedly. He realises he is having no luck in the bathroom and gives up to try another room.

* * *

Courtney checks the fridge but it's off and empty so she continues through the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. She throws everything on the floor, not bothering to pick up after herself. The mansion isn't exactly in tip top condition so there really isn't any point. After finding nothing amongst the utensils she gives a sigh of frustration and heads to the next room, wondering how long she's been in the house.

* * *

Duncan is still in the same room when he hears Heather's scream. He stops for a second when he hears her, but then immediately decides it can't be anything too bad and continues rifling through a chest of drawers. He's on the bottom drawer when he hears someone coming, so he quickly closes it and ducks into the cupboard he had been searching before. He manages to shut the door just as Noah walks in. Duncan watches through the keyhole as Noah heads straight to the chest of drawers and Duncan breathes a sigh of relief, though he's not sure why it matters if Noah sees him or not.

Noah goes through the drawers methodically, shifting the clothes around to try and find the invincibility pass. He looks up as Courtney enters the room.

"Haven't found the invincibility pass then?" Courtney asks. Noah shakes his head and goes back to the drawers. "Let's just hope Duncan doesn't find it. Have you searched this wardrobe yet?"

"No," Noah replies, not looking up from the drawers. Courtney opens the doors of the wardrobe and gasps in surprise as Duncan puts his hand over her mouth and drags her into the closet and shuts the doors behind her.

"Shh," he whispers. She licks his hand to get it away from her mouth and when that doesn't work she bites him. He suppresses a cry of pain and she smirks but remains silent.

"Anything?" they hear Noah say. There is no reply so he looks around to find Courtney gone. "Courtney?" he calls. Still no answer.

"He's going to look in here," Courtney whispers. Duncan grabs her tightly around the waist and pulls her as far back as possible, so his back is against the back of the wardrobe and they are hidden by the clothes hanging down. Noah doesn't look in the closet, however, just glances nervously around the room and leaves quickly.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"I wasn't scared, I just didn't think the invincibility pass was in that room!"

* * *

Once Noah is gone Courtney becomes all too aware of how close he face is to Duncan's and how tightly he is holding her. She doesn't make a move to change this however.

"Trying to get rid of me, huh, sweetheart?" Duncan whispers with a smirk, referring to the conversation he'd overheard only seconds ago between Noah and Courtney.

"Yes, obviously!" Courtney hisses.

"Sorry to break it to you, but…" he relaxes his arm around her slightly as he pulls out an invincibility pass.

"Great!" Courtney says, annoyed.

"Oh come on, I know you don't hate me as much as you say you do! Otherwise why'd you stay in this closet with me, instead of just getting out and going with Noah?" Duncan says.

"Hmph!" is all Courtney can say.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Ugh, why did I stay in that closet? What is wrong with me?"

* * *

Courtney is about to get out of the closet when suddenly the sound effects stop and the house is eerily quiet.

"Do you think that means it's been twenty minutes?" asks Duncan.

* * *

In the pitch black basement, Tyler stumbles around, looking for a flashlight. He hears Heather's scream and falls into a pile of boxes. After struggling to get out of the boxes he tries to find the staircase he fell down so he can get back out, or at the very least a light switch so he can see where he's going. As he flails around in the dark he trips over an electrical which pops out of its socket and the creepy sounds that had been being broadcast immediately cease.

* * *

After getting rid of the spiders, Heather heads back downstairs.

"That was so gross!" she says to herself. She stops halfway down the stairs when she hears the sound effects stop. "Surely twenty minutes has passed by now?" She reaches the bottom of the staircase and notices a light switch on the wall. "Finally! Some light so I can see properly!" she goes over to the switch and turns it on but nothing happens. She starts flicking it on and off, looking at the light in hallway she's in and also in the rooms that lead off the hallway but the switch doesn't seem to do anything. She gives a sigh of frustration and continues on her way.

* * *

A light comes on and Tyler blinks, his eyes adjusting to the brightness. Once he gets his bearings he heads towards a small staircase which he assumes is the one he fell down. Just as he reaches it the light goes off again. Then the light starts flicking on and off. Tyler makes use of the temporary light and quickly runs up the stairs. At the top he hears the clock chiming and he scratches his head in confusion.

* * *

"Do you hear that?" asks Courtney as she steps out of the closet.

"Yeah," Duncan replies, the chiming of the clock is kind of hard to ignore.

"We can't have been in here an hour!" Courtney says worriedly.

"Definitely not," Duncan agrees. The ground starts to shake and bits of the ceiling drop down onto their heads. "We've got to get out of here," Duncan says, grabbing Courtney's hand and running from the room. They leave through the back door, and it seems the other three have the same idea because Noah is already standing outside and Tyler and Heather appear behind them.

"What is going on?!" Heather demands. The five of them turn and look at the house and watch it crumble to the ground.

"We've gotta get back to camp," says Tyler.

"Not so fast!" says a deep voice. They all turn to see someone dressed entirely in black towering over them. Shots are fired and the final five black out as they are hit with some kind of dart.

* * *

When they come to, they find that they all tied up in the back of a van.

"Chris is so dead!" Courtney says groggily.

"You think he's behind this?" Tyler asks.

"Obviously! He's done stuff like this before. It's clearly some part of the challenge he didn't tell us about." Courtney says scathingly. Noah, Heather and Duncan nod in agreement.

"I don't know about that. All I know is, my fortune is coming true!" Tyler says, eyes wide.

"What?" Courtney scoffs. "You don't actually believe that rubbish, do you?"

"Well yeah… Chef said I'd meet a tall dark stranger and that things would get bad… but don't worry, he said it would work out okay." Tyler reassures everyone. "What did everyone else's fortunes say?"

"Would somebody say something useful please?" Heather butts in. "Like a suggestion for how to get out of here?"

"I have a knife in my pocket, if someone can get it out we may be able to cut ourselves free." Duncan says.

"How are we supposed to get a knife from your pocket when everyone's hands and feet are both bound, genius?" Noah rolls his eyes.

"Someone will have to use their teeth," says Duncan.

"This is so stupid!" Courtney says.

"You got a better idea, Princess?" Duncan asks. She purses her lips but stays silent, not having a better idea of her own.

"Well get to it then!" Heather demands.

"Me? Why me?" Courtney protests.

"I'm not putting my face that close to his crotch!" Heather snaps.

"I don't want to either!" Courtney whines.

"Of course you do!" Heather rolls her eyes. "You're the only one who's been that close before so you can do it again while our lives are at stake! It's just his pocket for god's sake!" Duncan looks like he's thoroughly enjoying the argument between the girls and Noah and Tyler look quite amused also. Courtney looks uncertainly at Heather then at Duncan.

"Come on, Courtney, save us!" Tyler urges. Courtney sighs in resignation and drops her head, ready to try and retrieve Duncan's knife with her mouth. She is spared the humiliating task however when the van comes to a halt and everyone is thrown against the back door. The doors open and the five of them land on the ground. Someone cuts their hands and feet free, closes the doors on the van and drives off into the night.

"Where do you think we are?" asks Tyler. Noah shrugs but no one sees him as it is pitch black.

"Do you think we're still on the island?" asks Heather.

"I'd say we are and that the goal is still to get back to camp first," Duncan reasons.

"Which way is camp then?" Tyler asks. No one answers, as no one has any idea.

"We should stick together guys, no sense in splitting up and everyone getting lost," Courtney says.

"Yeah okay," Duncan agrees and Noah and Tyler also make noises of assent.

"Heather?" Courtney questions. No answer. "Heather?"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I need to win the challenge or the boys will vote me off. I heard the river and I figured if I followed it downstream I would eventually find camp!"

* * *

"I think she's gone," says Duncan.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious!" Courtney snaps. "I hear the river. If we follow that it will lead us back to camp." She marches towards the river and Duncan follows. After a few steps Courtney stops, realising she can only hear two sets of footsteps. "Noah? Tyler?" she calls. No one replies.

"Just you and me, babe," says Duncan.

"Ugh, great!"

* * *

"It was so great to see Lindsay again. I miss her so much," says Tyler.

"Uh huh," Noah says.

"She's started planning the wedding, it's going to be so great. She's set the date for three months from now. She's asked her sister to be her maid of honour but she can't decide who her other bridesmaids should be. Once I get off this show we're doing an interview with _Today's Celebrity _magazine. So many people congratulated us when we were out for dinner. People really love Lindsay, I'm so lucky." Tyler rambles on.

"That's great, Tyler. Hey I have an idea, let's talk about something else." Noah suggests.

"Oh… okay… are you sure we're going in the right direction? And do you really think it was wise to leave the others?"

"Yes, I'm sure. And the reason I wanted to get away from them is because I wanted to ask you something," Noah says as the two guys continue walking through the woods. As soon as they'd realised Heather was gone, Noah had grabbed Tyler and stealthily left Duncan and Courtney.

"Really, what?" Tyler asks.

"I think you and I should form an alliance." Noah says.

"An alliance? I don't know…" Tyler says dubiously.

"What, you already have one?" Noah scoffs.

"No, but if the others find out…"

"Look Tyler, Heather and Courtney already have an alliance. Duncan is still trying to get into Courtney's pants and while he is he isn't going to be voting her off. That leaves you and me." Noah explains. Tyler nods.

"Okay, you're right. Who should we vote off then?" Tyler wonders.

"First we have to get rid of Duncan. Once he's gone we can get rid of Courtney. Are you in?" Noah asks.

"I'm in." Tyler agrees.

* * *

Courtney reaches the river and begins following it downstream. Duncan trails along behind her. He isn't too fazed about making it back to camp first as he already has an invincibility pass.

"We should go for a swim in the river," Duncan suggests.

"Duncan, I'm trying to win a challenge here!" Courtney snaps.

"Come on, it'll be fun. You don't need to win, no one's going to vote you off!" Duncan convinces.

"I don't need to win? Don't you know me at all?!"

"Right."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Winning Courtney over is proving to be way harder than I thought it would be. To be honest, when I first realised I wanted her back, I thought if I could get her away from Noah the rest would be easy. I guess I forgot how stubborn she is."

* * *

"If you're not going to be useful, can you go away? You're slowing me down." Courtney says.

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Duncan replies. Courtney thinks for a moment.

"Just shut up and keep walking," Courtney tells him. He's silent for about twenty seconds before he starts talking again.

"I don't see why we can't talk while we walk," Duncan says.

"Because I don't really want to talk to you," Courtney says snarkily.

"I don't get you. One minute we're fine and I think you might be coming around and the next you hate my guts again."

"Maybe there's a reason for that." Courtney snaps.

"The same reason you pretended to be engaged to Noah?" Duncan wonders. Courtney shrugs. "Which is what?" Duncan presses.

"Oh look, there's camp." Courtney says and runs towards the campfire. Duncan sighs and trudges after her. Courtney reaches the campfire only to find that Heather is already there.

"I win, you lose!" Heather boasts. Courtney sits down and folds her arms in annoyance. Five minutes later Duncan walk up.

"Did she beat you here?" he asks Courtney.

"I sure did! And guess what, you're going home tonight!" Heather taunts.

"I don't think so," Duncan says smugly, showing Heather his invincibility pass.

"No! Did you know about this?" Heather questions Courtney. Courtney pouts and nods. Duncan smirks.

"Now who are we going to vote off?" she says urgently. Duncan, Courtney and Heather turn and look up as Noah and Tyler approach the campfire. Courtney and Heather exchange a look. At that moment Chris walks up to the campfire.

"Welcome back campers! Now that I have you all here it's time to cast your votes. Heather and Duncan both have invincibility so keep that in mind when you vote!" Chris announces.

"Duncan has invincibility?" Noah says incredulously.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," says Duncan.

CONFESSIONAL: Noah

"Since Duncan and Heather have invincibility that leaves me with only two choices; Courtney and Tyler. Heather and Duncan will never vote for Courtney so I've just got to hope they vote for Tyler."

* * *

With the votes cast, Chris stands before the final five with a plate of four marshmallows. He stares at them dramatically as they glance around nervously, waiting for the verdict.

"Heather," Chris tosses her a marshmallow. "Duncan." Duncan catches a marshmallow. "Courtney." Courtney breathes a sigh of relief. Chris stares at Noah and Tyler respectively. He leaves the most dramatic pause he has ever left before announcing who gets the last marshmallow. "And the last marshmallow goes to… Tyler!" He throws the marshmallow and everyone is silent until Noah breaks it.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" he says, standing up. "Well, figures. I would've beaten all of you if you hadn't voted me off. Good riddance." He walks down to the dock of shame and boards the boat of losers.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"I would like Noah to know that I didn't vote for him, I voted for Courtney."

* * *

Heather and Courtney walk back to the cabin together when they hear Duncan calling.

"Courtney!" he calls.

"Ugh!" says Courtney.

"Why don't you just talk to him? Maybe if you actually tell him how you feel, he'll get it and leave you alone. Or not leave you alone, depending on what it is you feel," Heather suggests. Courtney gives her a pathetic look. "Suit yourself." Heather walks into the cabin and Courtney stays outside to talk to Duncan, despite her better judgement.

"Courtney, look, will you just talk to me? I just want to talk." Duncan says as he approaches her.

"Fine." Courtney concedes.

"I know you don't hate me. What do I have to do to get you stop playing hard to get?" Duncan asks.

"Excuse me? You think I'm playing hard to get?" Courtney says incredulously.

"Well… yeah…" Duncan says doubtfully.

"Well I've got news for you, there is nothing you can do, so maybe you should just leave me alone!" Courtney shouts, before turning to go into the cabin.

"Oh come on, I know you want me!" Duncan calls after her. Courtney stops and goes back to him.

"Fine. You're right. I do want you. I'm so attracted to you that sometimes it's all I can think about and I _hate _myself for it. But you know what, maybe we should just do it and get it over with. Then you'll have got what you wanted and you can stop with this ridiculous charade and chase after some other stupid girl!" Courtney rages.

"Wait, what?" Duncan says, confused.

"You heard me. Let's just have sex right now. We both want to." Courtney says matter-of-factly.

"What? Courtney, no. I want it to mean something." Duncan says.

"Yeah, right. This is all a game to you Duncan and it always has been so I think I'll just let you win."

"Let me win? Courtney, you're acting crazy!" Duncan protests.

"So now you don't want to? Seriously Duncan, is that why you came back on this show? So you could get me to admit I still had feelings for you and humiliate myself on national TV again? Did you think that I'd been thinking about you these past ten years, pining for you, dreaming about you? Honestly Duncan, I don't know what you expected. You did something horrible to me and yeah it hurt at the time, but that doesn't mean I've been crying about you since then. I stopped caring about you almost the minute I found out you kissed Gwen and I certainly don't care about you now. So if I have to have sex with you to get you to leave me alone and to stop my own stupid feelings of lust – because I promise you, that's all it is, then I'll happily do it right now." Courtney yells, breathing heavily after her rant. Duncan is silent for a moment.

"How can you hate me so much?" he whispers.

"Hating you is a lot more satisfying than loving you ever was." Courtney replies and she turns and walks up the steps to the cabin.

"You've got me all wrong," Duncan calls after her. "I don't want a stupid fling. I want to be with you." Courtney stops, her hand on the door. She turns her head to him.

"Yeah? Prove it." She spits, and walks inside. Duncan stays where he is, feeling like he's been punched in the stomach, or possibly the chest.

As soon as Courtney closes the door behind her she collapses on the floor, bursting into tears. Heather immediately rushes over to her and puts her arms around her.

"Hey, it's alright," Heather soothes.

"It wasn't meant to be like this," Courtney sobs.

"What do you mean?" Heather asks, stroking Courtney's hair consolingly.

"I shouldn't feel like this! It should've been a dumb summer fling when I was sixteen that I could look back on and smile about. Think about the time I dated a rebellious punk for a couple of months whenever I get bored with my successful, plain husband. How did I let it get this far?" Courtney says through her tears.

"We can't help how we feel," Heather says. Courtney nods.

"Why are you being so nice to me anyway?" Courtney asks. Heather sighs.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't make friends easily. But over the last few weeks I've really felt like I could call you a friend. You're the only one on this island who even comes near to my perfection," Heather smiles. Courtney laughs.

"I guess we are friends. Sorry about what I said this morning," Courtney says, wiping her tears from her eyes.

"It's okay, I get it. I have something to ask you though," Heather says. Courtney looks at her dubiously.

"What is it?" she asks.

"Will you be the godmother of my children?" Heather asks. Courtney smiles.

"Child_ren_? How about we just start with this one, and we'll talk next time you're pregnant?" she laughs.

"Uh, well. I'm having twins."

**Note- Wow this was a long chapter! I remember at the start I was like "the chapters will get shorter as people go home" haha so much for that! Anyway I reached 100 review so thank you so much for all your lovely feedback. Only three chapters left now, and I don't really have any challenge ideas for the final 4 or the final 3 so if you have any, suggestions are welcome!**


	19. It Takes Two

**Chapter Nineteen – It Takes Two**

Duncan slams the door to the cabin and flops down on his bed.

"Is everything okay, man?" Tyler asks.

"I really screwed it up. I didn't even realise how bad I screwed it up until right now." Duncan says. Tyler stays silent. Duncan groans.

"Sorry, I didn't want to lie to you. You really did screw it up." Tyler says.

"I can't believe I actually thought I had a chance. I'm such an idiot!" Duncan says.

"I wouldn't say that," Tyler reassures.

"Well, thanks. But you didn't hear what Courtney just said to me."

"Uh… actually I did," Tyler says. Duncan raises an eyebrow threateningly. "She was yelling pretty loud, I wasn't eavesdropping!" Tyler defends. "Look, I don't know much about Courtney, but when it comes to Lindsay she always says what she really means, even if it takes a while to get there."

"I hope this is going somewhere." Duncan glares. Tyler gulps.

"So she said all that mean stuff… but when you said you want to be with her, she said…"

"Prove it." Duncan finishes, finally realising Tyler's point.

"That doesn't sound like she's written you off just yet," Tyler says.

"Maybe. But how do I prove it?" Duncan wonders.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Tyler replies. The boys are silent after that and eventually they fall asleep.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Believe it or not, I didn't come back on this show to win back Courtney. But I'll be damned if I leave without her."

* * *

The next morning the final four stand before Chris once again.

"Good morning campers! I hope you had a lovely sleep and are ready for another day of challenges! Today's challenges will be done in pairs!" Chris says.

"Heather's my partner!" says Courtney quickly. Heather nods in agreement.

"Not so fast ladies, it's my show, so _I'll _pick the partners. Courtney and Heather you will be partners and Duncan and Tyler you'll be partners. Boys against girls!" Chris announces.

"Great so what do we have to do?" Heather asks. Chris chuckles evilly before revealing the challenge. Heather and Courtney glace at each other worriedly.

"There will be a series of mini challenges. And now for the twist! One person from each pair will have to keep their hands behind their back for the entire challenge and the other person must be their arms! You can decide between yourselves who's the arms and who's the… face. You have ten seconds to decide!" Chris declares.

"You be the arms! That way I won't have to touch Duncan." Courtney says. Heather sighs.

"Fine," she concedes.

"What are the girls doing?" Duncan asks, looking over at them.

"I think Heather's the arms," Tyler says, listening.

"Okay, you can be the arms too." Duncan says. Tyler nods.

"Have you made your decisions?" Chris asks after ten seconds are up. The teams nod.

"Heather is the arms," says Courtney.

"I'm the arms!" Tyler says.

"Great!" Chris grins. "First challenge is a tennis match! First team to win one game wins the first challenge and is one step closer to invincibility!"

* * *

Ten minutes later the final four stand on a tennis court. Courtney is dressed in a tennis dress and sneakers.

"Where did you get that?" Heather asks.

"What? I play tennis, I thought it might come in handy!" Courtney pouts.

"Right…" Heather rolls her eyes. Chris approaches and throws a tennis racquet each to Tyler and Heather and then climbs up to sit on the umpire's chair.

"We don't have any linesmen so I'll be the judge of if the ball goes in or out. We also don't have any ball boys so you have to get the balls yourself."

"Haha, balls," says Tyler. The other three roll their eyes.

"If either Courtney or Duncan removes their arms from behind their back their team will be disqualified from the challenge. Now for the coin toss. Ladies, heads or tails?" Chris asks.

"Heads!" Heather calls. Chris flicks a coin.

"Heads it is! Girls serve first! Get into position now!" Chris says. Courtney walks to the baseline and puts her hands behind her back. Heather puts her arms through Courtney's and gets ready to serve. Up the other end of the court Duncan stands in position and Tyler threads his arms through Duncan's.

"I did not think this through," says Duncan as he feels Tyler pressed against him. "You better not enjoy this."

"Relax, I like girls!" says Tyler.

"Okay, when you're ready, girls!" Chris calls.

"Do you think you can do this?" Courtney asks nervously.

"I'm all over it. And besides, Tyler has two left feet, remember?" Heather points out. She throws the tennis ball high in the air and manages to hit it with the racquet but it flies directly into the net.

"Fault!" calls Chris.

"Okay, that was just a practise! Now for the real thing!" Heather tosses the ball into the air again and this time manages to hit it into the service court. Tyler and Duncan try to run forward to hit it but they trip and Duncan lands face first with Tyler on top of him.

"Ha!" Heather says triumphantly.

"I wish I could high five you right now," says Courtney.

"We're already basically hugging, do we really need high fives?" Heather says.

"Good point."

"Okay, since we're only playing one game, we'll be swapping serves at each point. Boys, your turn to serve!" says Chris. Duncan and Tyler somehow manage to stand up without Duncan removing his hands from behind his back. They walk to the baseline and get ready to serve.

"You better not screw this up!" Duncan warns. Tyler responds by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the service court. "Hey good job!" says Duncan, surprised.

"Get ready for the return!" Tyler says. Heather and Courtney work in unison and manage to get to the ball in time as it's moving quite slow. Heather hits it over the net right at Duncan's feet, where Tyler manages to lob it right over the girls' heads.

"That was definitely in! The score stands at fifteen all! Girls serve!" Chris calls.

"I'm going to hit straight at Duncan's head!" Heather whispers to Courtney.

"Okay," Courtney replies.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"If Heather wants to hurt Duncan on my behalf, I'm fine with it. But the truth is, ever since I said all that stuff to him yesterday, I don't feel quite so angry at him. It was good to get it off my chest. Don't think this means I like him or forgive him though, he is still going down!"

* * *

True to her word, Heather hits the ball straight at Duncan's head. While this gives the girls a laugh, Chris calls a fault as it doesn't bounce in the service court.

"Ugh, fine." Heather sighs, this time taking her serve more seriously. It goes in and Tyler hits it out.

"Thirty-fifteen to the girls!" Chris announces. "Boys serve." Tyler grabs the tennis balls and immediately serves a double fault.

"Nice going!" Duncan says sarcastically.

"Forty-fifteen, girls serve." Chris says.

"Enough messing around, let's finish this thing!" Courtney says. Heather nods in agreement although Courtney can't see her. Heather tosses up the ball and smashes it. The boys don't even have a chance, the ball bounces in the service court then flies right by them.

"Ace!" Chris says, impressed. "Girls win! Now shake hands and pretend you like each other." Both teams walk to the net and Heather and Tyler shake hands. Duncan grins at Courtney but she just looks at him disdainfully before turning away.

"Can Heather let go of me now?" she asks Chris.

"For now!" Chris concedes. "Alright part two of the challenge is… putting on make-up!"

"Excuse me?" Duncan says incredulously.

"You heard me! The person who is the arms must put make-up on the face of their partner. Head into the communal washrooms where we have set up your make-up stations in front of the mirror."

"This challenge is ridiculous! I'm not letting anyone put make-up on my face!" Duncan protests.

"If you want to win the challenge then you'll have to do it!" Chris says.

"I don't care! I'll forfeit the challenge." Duncan folds his arms.

"Duncan if you forfeit, the girls will win and get invincibility and one of us will have to go home!" Tyler points out.

"Can't we at least swap partners? I'll do Courtney and Tyler can do Heather." Duncan suggests.

"That's not allowed is it, Chris?" Courtney says hopefully.

"No, it's not. Partners stay the same." Chris backs Courtney up. Duncan sighs.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"This challenge is totally bogus! Putting on make-up? Way to give us a challenge tailor made for the girls. But if Tyler and I lose there's no way I'm staying in the competition. Courtney hates my guts right now and Heather's right beside her. I guess I'll have to compete."

* * *

"Fine, but just know, I will not enjoy this one bit!" Duncan swears.

"Oh, but we will!" Heather laughs and Courtney joins in. Duncan glares at them. Chris leads the four of them to the communal bathroom where they are forced to take their positions with Courtney and Duncan having their hands behind their back again and Heather and Tyler become their arms.

"Alright you have ten minutes to paint their whole face. Whoever looks the best at the end wins! And go!" Chris says, pressing a button on his stopwatch. Heather immediately reaches for the foundation. Tyler just stands there staring at all the make-up products.

"God, just get it over with already!" Duncan says.

"I don't know what to do!" Tyler complains.

"Just copy Heather!" Duncan tells him. Tyler looks over at Heather and picks up some foundation and a brush and starts covering Duncan's face with it.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"This is humiliating."

* * *

Heather moves on to eye make-up which proves to be a little difficult from her position, but with a glance at the boys she realises she has nothing to worry about. She snorts in amusement at Tyler's horrible mess. Courtney looks over to see what is so funny and bursts out laughing when she sees Duncan's face. Duncan groans.

"At least she's not yelling at you," Tyler comforts.

"I think I prefer the yelling," Duncan replies.

After ten minutes Chris tells them to stop and turn around to face him. Courtney's make-up is pretty messy but it's passable. Duncan, however, looks like he plunged his face into the make-up.

"Nice!" Chris laughs. "The girls win again!" he declares.

"Yes!" Courtney and Heather cheer.

"Great, can I get this off my face now so I can go home looking respectable?" Duncan asks, defeated.

"You can't go home yet, there's still another challenge!" Chris says.

"Yeah, but it's the last one and the girls already won two. We can't win invincibility." Duncan says.

"That's what you think! The last challenge is worth two points! So if you win, you'll tie with the girls and no one will get invincibility!" Chris announces. "And you can take your make-up off but Tyler has to do it for you. Meet me at the stage in fifteen minutes!" Chris says before leaving them to it.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Courtney, Heather, Duncan and Tyler stand before the stage in front of Chris who is standing on the stage.

"Now for the last challenge, you'll be singing a duet!" Chris says.

"Yes!" Courtney claps her hands excitedly. Heather rolls her eyes. Duncan groans and Tyler looks dubious. "Can Heather and I pick our own song?"

"Ha. Good one! When I say you'll be singing a duet, I don't mean you and Heather. I mean you and Duncan. With Heather and Tyler as your arms." Chris smiles smugly. Courtney's mouth drops open.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I did not sign up for this!"

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I do not sing!"

* * *

"Uh-uh, no way. I'm not singing with him." Courtney refuses.

"You won't have to, because I'm not singing," Duncan agrees.

"Oh come on! It's just singing, you don't even have to touch each other. You two are such babies." Chris complains.

"Just do it, Courtney. Don't be so pathetic!" Heather demands. Courtney frowns at her but agrees.

"Duncan, sing! If we win we can vote off Heather," Tyler convinces. "Worst case scenario is a tie-breaker. If we lose, it's either you or me, and I don't like your odds." Duncan nods, knowing Tyler is right.

"What's the song?" Duncan asks to show his consent to go along with the challenge.

"That's up to Heather and Tyler! They must agree on a song for you and Courtney to sing." Chris says. "If they can't agree on a song, I will choose!" Chris chuckles. "Chef will judge the winner! Heather and Tyler, you can go and discuss what song you will make your victims… I mean friends… sing! Duncan and Courtney, you stay here." Heather and Tyler wander off to discuss song choices and Duncan and Courtney sit on the stage.

"Courtney…" Duncan starts.

"Save it." Courtney interrupts.

"No, I want you know I meant what I said yesterday. I want to be with you, I always have," he says, trying to sound confident but he's scared of being rejected again.

"You always have? So, when you were kissing Gwen, you really wanted to be with me huh? Come on Duncan, you can lie to me all you want but don't lie to yourself." Courtney says.

"I did want to be with you then, I just didn't realise it. I was so dumb, I just…" Duncan tries to explain himself but Courtney cuts him off.

"You must think I'm so stupid," she shakes her head. "You think if we'd been on separate teams on TotalDramaIsland you would've looked twice at me? I was convenient, that's all."

"Convenient? Court, Katie and Sadie were "convenient" too. So were Bridgette and Eva, you don't see me begging them to take me back." Duncan says.

"Is that what you're doing?" Courtney asks, but she doesn't really say it like a question. More like she is humouring him.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I tried really hard to get you to like me." Duncan says.

"And if you'd been on the Gophers you would have tried really hard to get Heather or Lindsay or Gwen to like you. Look Duncan, I'm not mad anymore. But I can never trust you again."

"Court…"

"Courtney." Courtney corrects.

"Courtney…"

"Give it up Duncan, nothing you can say will make me change my mind. You'll forget about me as soon as this show is done. You're just feeling sexually frustrated right now is all." Courtney says. Duncan is about to respond when Tyler and Heather return.

"We've picked a song!" Tyler says.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Yesterday Courtney was screaming at me, and now she's calmly telling me that I'm just sexually frustrated? What is up with her? Does she really believe all that crap she said to me? She was convenient? Now I'm mad at her!"

* * *

"Okay, Heather, Tyler what's the song?" Chris asks.

"We've picked 'You're the One that I Want' from Grease," Tyler says.

"Ooh I love that musical! Do we get to dress up?" Courtney asks.

"Uhh… if you really want to… and if you have a costume." Chris says.

"Do you?" Heather asks.

"No," says Courtney sadly.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road already!" Duncan says, standing up. "Tyler! Get back here." Duncan puts his hands behind his back and Tyler becomes his arms again, and the girls do the same. Chris and Chef sit at the judges panel as the music starts.

"How did he get a backing track so quickly?" Courtney asks.

"Shut up and get performing!" Chris demands. Duncan clears his throat.

"I got chills! They're multiplying!" Duncan sings as Tyler waves his arms around. "And I'm looooosing control!" Duncan walks over to Courtney. "'Cause the power! You're supplying!" Duncan winks at Courtney and Tyler grabs Heather's hand. "It's electrifying!" Heather snatches her hand away as Courtney starts singing.

"You better shape up!" Heather pushes Duncan's chest. "Cause I need a man! And my heart is set on you!" Courtney walks forward as Heather keeps her hand on Duncan's chest. Duncan and Tyler somehow manage to walk backwards without tripping over each other. "You better shape up, you better understand, to my heart I must be true!" Courtney and Heather stop and face the audience, which is made up of just Chris and Chef. Heather folds her arms over Courtney's chest.

"Nothing left, nothing left for me to do!" Tyler grabs Courtney's shoulders as Duncan sings.

"You're the one that I want!" Duncan and Courtney sing in unison. Heather starts rolling her arms and putting her thumbs out so Tyler does the same. "Ooh ooh ooh, honey! You're the one that I want! Ooh ooh ooh, honey! The one that I want, ooh ooh ooh, the one that I need! Oh yes indeed!" Chris and Chef are grinning at how stupid they all look. Courtney looks at Duncan and smiles despite herself and Duncan smiles back.

"If you're filled with affection," Tyler grabs Heather's hand while Courtney is singing. He tries to spin Heather and Courtney under his arm but it doesn't really work and they just crash into each other. Instead of being annoyed, Courtney and Heather find themselves laughing as Courtney continues to sing. "you're too shy to convey!" Courtney stops laughing and puts her most seductive face on. "Better take my direction," Heather grabs Duncan by the shirt and pulls him right up to Courtney so their faces nearly touch. "Feel your way," Heather pushes Duncan away and Courtney gives him a pouty smile and wink. Duncan smirks and starts singing again.

"I better shape up! 'Cause you need a man!" Tyler grabs Courtney's waist as she and Heather are trying to walk away. Duncan drops to his knees, taking Tyler with him.

"Ah!" cries Tyler but he plays along, clasping his hands in front Duncan.

"I need a man!" Courtney sings, "who can keep me satisfied!" Heather grabs Tyler's hand and pulls the boys back up the their feet, somewhat awkwardly.

"I better shape up, if I'm gonna prove…" Duncan sings, realising he actually means the words he is singing.

"You better prove!" Courtney has also realised what she's singing and starts to choke up. "That my faith is justified."

"Don't blow it!" Heather whispers. "It's just a song!" Courtney nods and continues.

"Are you sure?" Duncan sings.

"Yes I'm sure down deep inside!" they sing together. "You're the one that I want!" Heather and Tyler start doing ridiculous dance moves with their arms and Courtney and Duncan can't help but laugh at their ridiculousness. Courtney decides to join in and starts dancing extremely badly. Duncan raises his eyebrows at her but also starts dancing badly.

CONFESSIONAL: Chris

"They weren't supposed to have fun! I picked this challenge because I thought they'd hate it! I'm going to have to think up some way worse stuff for the final three."

* * *

As the chorus comes to a close Duncan and Courtney face each other again. Heather puts her arms on Duncan's shoulders and Tyler puts his hands on Courtney's waist. "The one that I need, oh yes indeed!" The song finishes and Courtney and Duncan stand face to face, both breathing heavily after their dance number. Courtney bites her lip and looks down for s second and when she looks back up, Duncan removes his hands from behind his back, hitting Tyler in the face in the process, and grabs her face, pulling her to him and kissing her fiercely. For a moment she seems like she'll kiss him back, but instead she takes her hands from behind her back and puts them to his chest, pushing him away with all her might. She then runs from the stage and to her cabin without a second glance. Everyone stares after her in shock, no one more than Duncan.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Can't I do a thing right? I should've known that was terrible timing"

* * *

Chef clears his throat to break the tension. "I declare the boys to be the winner of this section of the challenge." He says. Heather doesn't even have the heart to protest. She shoots Duncan a dirty look, though he's not sure if it's for winning the challenge or for kissing Courtney, before leaving the stage to follow Courtney.

"Since you boys won this part, no one gets invincibility tonight. Everyone is fair game. I'll see you at the campfire ceremony." Chris says as he and Chef get up and walk away.

"We vote Heather, right?" Tyler asks Duncan.

"Yeah. Heather." Duncan agrees.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I can't believe we lost the challenge! I hate to admit it, but it was actually pretty fun, up until… well you know."

* * *

Heather walks into the cabin as Courtney is wiping away her tears.

"Are you alright?" Heather asks. Courtney nods. Heather sits down on the bed next to her. "You've got to pull yourself together. Don't let him see you cry. He's going tonight, don't you worry about it. I'll just go and convince Tyler." Heather leaves the cabin and approaches Tyler who is on his way back from the stage. Duncan doesn't appear to be around.

"Tyler. I don't like you, and you don't like me." Heather starts.

"You don't like me? I like you…" Tyler says. Heather squints at him.

"Really?" she says, bewildered.

"No, I'm just kidding, I don't like you. Continue." Tyler says.

"Right. We need to get rid of Duncan tonight. It's either you or him, got it?" Heather states.

"I don't think so. We're voting for you." Tyler says.

"Please! You really think Duncan isn't going to vote for you? Here's the way it is. Courtney and I are going to vote together, and he knows it. If Courtney and I both vote for you, and he does too, he doesn't have to do a tie breaker. If you both vote for me, he'll have to do one, and we all know he can't win against me." Heather says matter-of-factly. Tyler thinks for a moment before nodding.

"I suppose you're right. I'll vote for Duncan." Tyler agrees.

"I knew you'd make the right decision!" Heather smiles. Tyler smiles back, if a little sadly before heading back to the cabin.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"I feel kind of bad voting for Duncan, but Heather's right. And besides if it comes down to a vote, I have a better chance of winning a popularity contest against Heather than against Duncan."

* * *

Heather goes to walk back to her cabin but someone grabs her by the arm.

"Hey!" she cries, facing Duncan. "Ugh, what do you want?"

"Don't vote me off." Duncan says.

"And why shouldn't I?" Heather demands.

"Because I need to win Courtney back, and I can't do it if I'm not here!" Duncan says exasperatedly.

"Face it, Duncan. It's a lost cause. You had your chance and you blew it. You're out of here." Heather says.

"It's not a lost cause!" Duncan asserts.

"Duncan you really hurt her! Back in World Tour…"

"Don't say World Tour!" Duncan cringes. Heather rolls her eyes.

"Back in World Tour," she continues, "after you kissed Gwen, she really hated both of you."

"I'm aware, thanks. She was very vocal about it at the time." Duncan says blandly.

"Because she wanted to make you feel some remorse at least for what you'd done. Seriously Duncan, you were so smug and horrible, like you were _happy _that you'd broken her heart." Heather scolds.

"Well, it didn't seem like she cared that much at the time. She was angry, yeah, but she's always angry. And honestly, I got the feeling she was more pissed at Gwen than at me." Duncan says.

"You're such an idiot Duncan. Do you really think she was going to show you how she really felt, especially on TV? She cried every night until she was eliminated. Probably after that too, I don't know. And I never heard her say _Gwen's _name in her sleep." Heather says. Duncan is speechless. Heather purses her lips and glares at him before going back into the cabin.

Courtney is lying on the bed with her eyes closed but Heather can tell she's not asleep.

"I got Tyler convinced. That dirtbag is going home tonight!" Heather says.

"Great," says Courtney unenthusiastically.

"You could be a little more grateful!" Heather says, annoyed.

"I am, sorry." Courtney says. Heather softens a little.

"Come on, Courtney, you don't need him. You're way better off without him!" Heather consoles.

"I know! That's what makes it so horrible, is that I know I shouldn't want him. It's just that… I never loved anyone until him, and I never really loved anyone after him." Courtney whispers.

"Well, if makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure he feels the same." Heather tells her.

"Ha, yeah right. Like he ever loved me." Courtney scoffs.

"You don't think he did?" Heather asks. Courtney shrugs.

"I thought he did at the time. But I guess I was wrong."

"Didn't he ever tell you?" Heather asks incredulously. Courtney shakes her head. "So what, when you told him you loved him he just said 'thanks?'" Heather wonders. Courtney is silent. "You never told him, did you?" Heather says knowingly.

"We didn't really say that stuff to each other!" Courtney defends.

"Right. I just have one question. Do you still love him now?" Heather asks. Courtney doesn't say anything for a while.

"No," she finally responds, but Heather isn't convinced.

"Take it from me, Courtney. You can run and resist and fake it as much as you want, but in the end if you want him, you're going to have to take the leap."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"It took a while for me to admit I even liked Alejandro, let alone was in love with him, but once I did I wondered what I'd been running from the entire time. I mean, the chase is kinda fun, but you can't run forever. Sometimes you have to drop your guard and admit how you feel. Courtney needs to know that."

* * *

"Okay people! It's time for our most dramatic campfire ceremony yet!" Chris announces to the four contestants in front of him.

"I seriously doubt that." Heather says. "Can we just get on with it?" Chris frowns at her.

"Fine," he pouts. "Courtney." he throws Courtney a marshmallow. "Heather." He throws Heather her marshmallow.

"Boys. Maybe if you'd stuck together instead of letting yourself be manipulated by the girls, you wouldn't be in this position. And the last marshmallow goes to… Duncan!" Chris declares, tossing Duncan his marshmallow.

"Wait, what?" Duncan asks. Tyler appears just as shocked.

"Please head down to the dock of shame immediately, Tyler!" Chris says. Tyler looks at the other three sadly before walking down and boarding the boat.

CONFESSIONAL: Tyler

"Chris was right! Duncan and I should have stuck together. Why did I listen to Heather?"

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I don't get it! I voted for Tyler, obviously, and he voted for me. But for him to go home without a tiebreaker… both girls must have voted for him. Maybe all hope isn't lost?"

**Note - Thanks again for your reviews! I finally thought up a challenge for this chapter with the help of a couple of you and also my sister. I also have challenge ideas for the last two chapters so that's good. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	20. Ghosts of Winners Past

**Chapter Twenty – Ghosts of Winners Past**

"You voted for Tyler!" Courtney accuses Heather once they are back in their cabin.

"So did you!" Heather fires back. Courtney pouts but doesn't say anything. "It doesn't matter anyway, we would've beaten Tyler and we're going to beat Duncan. Just get some sleep so that we're ready for the challenge tomorrow, okay?" Courtney nods and the girls go to bed.

* * *

Chris assembles the final three before him the next morning.

"Welcome to the final three!" he says.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"This is actually the furthest I've ever made it in the competition! I know I said that in All-Stars, I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was driven insane by how annoying Zoey and Mike were."

* * *

"All three of you have competed in four seasons previous to this. Today there will be four challenges. Each challenge has been invented by a winner of one of the seasons you competed in. The first challenge was thought up by Owen, the second by Beth. Heather, since you won season three, our third challenge has been created by the runner up of that season, Alejandro. The last challenge has been created by Mike." Chris says.

"I really don't think it's fair that Heather's _husband _gets to think up one of the challenges. Clearly he'll have come up with something only she can do." Duncan objects.

"Duncan, Alejandro may like Heather, but he's the only one who does. As a matter of fact, we took a poll of who the eliminated contestants would like to win, and you won. So stop complaining!" Chris informs him

"Duncan won? But people like me!" Courtney whines.

"No they don't." Chris says shortly. "Now, moving on to the first challenge! Owen's challenge is…" Chris opens an envelope and reads out what's written on it, "an eating contest. Wow, original." Chris rolls his eyes.

"Big surprise!" Heather says.

"Yeah," says Chris as his eyes scan the card. "This is lame! He wants you to eat as many hotdogs as you can in one minute."

"That doesn't sound so bad!" Courtney says.

"Yeah, it's not nearly horrible enough! I'm changing it up. Instead of hotdogs, you will have to eat… licorice and anchovy sandwiches with mouldy bread!" Chris declares. "We can do that right, Chef?" Chris calls to Chef.

"I'm sure we've got some lying around her somewhere!" Chef calls back.

"Alright, let's do this challenge in the dining hall!" Chris says and leads the contestants to the dining hall where they sit at one of the tables. Chef enters from the kitchen with a huge plate of mouldy licorice and anchovy sandwiches. The final three screw up their faces in disgust.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"The only thing worse than licorice is licorice and anchovies together."

* * *

"Okay! I'm going to set the timer for one minute! Whoever eats the most sandwiches in that time wins the first challenge and is one step closer to the final two. If you vomit you're disqualified!" Chris announces. "On your marks! Get set! Go!" Chris presses a button on the timer and Heather, Duncan and Courtney all grab their first sandwich. Heather gags as soon as she puts the sandwich to her lips.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Oh god, it smelt so awful! But I have eaten things just as bad and worse for this show before, so I can do it again."

* * *

Heather bites into the sandwich and makes a face before quickly swallowing. She glances over at the other two and is surprised to see that Courtney is already finishing her first sandwich and Duncan is nearly finished his first one as well.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Yeah, it was gross. But I have a very strong stomach, so I could handle it."

* * *

Heather gives up after Courtney has eaten her fourth sandwich and Heather has only eaten one. Duncan's eyes are wide and he is chewing extremely quickly, trying not to taste the foul sandwiches.

"And times up!" Chris says after one minute. "Heather, you ate one sandwich, what a pitiful effort. Duncan ate six sandwiches, but the winner of this challenge is Courtney who ate ten sandwiches!" Chris declares.

"I'm not sure if I'm disgusted or impressed," says Heather.

"Impressed, definitely impressed," Duncan says.

"Ugh, don't be such a suck up!" Heather rolls her eyes.

"Okay, moving on to the next challenge!" Chris says. "This challenge was invented by Beth, the winner of season two, Total Drama Action. Hand me the envelope please Chef!" Chef hands Chris an envelope. "And the challenge is…" Chris starts, opening the envelope, "a contests to see who knows the most about the allergies of everyone who competed in TotalDramaIsland." Chris frowns. "This is even worse than the last challenge! Why did we think it was a good idea to let those amateurs come up with the challenges?" Chris asks. Chef shrugs.

"It was your idea, I warned you not to do it." Chef says.

"Sure you did. Well, I guess I'm stuck with it now, but to make it more interesting, if you get a question wrong you'll get electrocuted. Chef, bring in the electric chairs!"

"Uh, excuse me?" Heather demands. "Is this legal?" Heather glances at Courtney.

"We signed a contract. As long as the electric shock isn't permanently damaging or life threatening then he's within the law." Courtney says.

"I hate this show!" Heather grumbles.

* * *

Chef and some interns set up three electric chairs on the stage and the three remaining contestants each sit in one of them and Chef straps them in. All three of them look extremely nervous as Chris clears his throat and prepares to read the first question.

"When I read a question, you'll have to buzz in by saying your name. Whoever buzzes in first gets the first shot at answering the question. If they get it wrong, they get a basically harmless electric shock and someone else can buzz in and try and answer it. If they get it right, they get a point, and whoever has the most points after I've read all the questions wins this round. Any questions? No, good. First question; what does Leshawna have an allergy to?" Chris asks.

"Heather!" Heather shouts, buzzing in.

"I'm sure she does have an allergy to you!" Duncan chuckles. Chris presses a button and gives him an electric shock.

"Shut up and wait your turn to speak or I'll shock you again." Chris warns. "Heather, please answer the question."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Back on Total Drama Island I made Leshawna cut up pineapples and she got a really bad rash. She wouldn't shut up about it for days!"

* * *

"Leshawna has an allergy to pineapples," Heather answers with a smirk.

"That is correct. One point to Heather. Next question; who developed an allergy to bee stings while competing on TotalDramaIsland?" Chris reads from a cue card. Everyone is silent, waiting for someone else to answer the question. "Oh, come on!" Chris complains. "Doesn't anybody know?" They all shake their heads. "Someone guess then. Courtney, guess." Chris demands. Courtney looks startled.

"Uh, okay… was it Trent?" she guesses. Chris immediately presses the button to shock her.

"Wrong! It was Owen. He got stung by a lot of bees during the cooking challenge in season one, and due to this he developed an allergy to them." Chris reads. "Well, you learn something new everyday!"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I totally should have known that one!"

* * *

"Alright, you should all know this one, who was eliminated during Total Drama World Tour due to their allergy to eucalyptus?" Chris asks. All three of them shout their name but Chris decides Courtney was first.

"Gwen was eliminated because she couldn't complete the tiebreaker challenge due to her eucalyptus allergy." Courtney answers.

"Just saying 'Gwen' would have been sufficient enough, but you're right. Courtney gets a point. Heather's on one point, Courtney's on one point and Duncan's on zero. Next question! What was our dearly departed Ezekiel allergic to?" Chris says sadly. Everyone hesitates before Heather buzzes in.

"Uh, peanuts?" she guesses.

"Wow, that's actually right! Point to Heather!" Chris says, surprised.

"How did you know that?" Courtney asks.

"It was just a guess, it's one of the most common allergies." Heather shrugs.

"Okay, now who is violently allergic to apples?" Chris asks.

"Duncan!" Duncan shouts.

"Yes, Duncan?" Chris says.

"Harold!" Duncan says victoriously.

"Uh yeah, that's right. Point to Duncan." Chris declares. The girls stare at Duncan in surprise.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Okay, so maybe I only knew that because I wanted to use it against him one day. But it helped me out today, didn't it?"

* * *

"Which contestant has many life-threatening allergies, including chocolate, copper and turmeric?" Chris asks

"Courtney!" Courtney calls. "Those are some of Noah's allergies. I thought I should learn them before I came on the show."

"That is correct! Okay, this is the last question. Courtney and Heather are both on two points, Duncan is on one. Which contestant carries an epi-pen in case of an emergency red ant attack?" Chris asks.

"Duncan!" Duncan yells.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Okay, so I didn't have a clue but I thought I may as well have a shot. The electric shock wasn't so bad…"

* * *

"Duncan?" Chris prompts.

"Uhh…Beth?" he takes a stab in the dark. Chris responds by giving him an electric shock. "Heather or Courtney?" he turns to the girls.

"Heather!" Heather screams.

"Okay, Heather who is it?" Chris asks dubiously. Heather looks smug as she answers.

"It's Cody." Says Heather, remembering their time in the Amazon.

"That is correct! Heather wins! Courtney and Heather both have a challenge to their name. You better lift your game, Duncan." Chris laughs.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"The next challenge was made up by Alejandro. I've got this one in the bag!"

* * *

"Alright, time for the penultimate challenge for today! This challenge has been created by Alejandro. Okay, are you ready?" Chris takes an envelope from Chef and reads out the challenge. "This challenge is to test your manipulation skills. Whoever can get one of the other two contestants to do something for them first, wins the challenge." He says. "Ooh, I actually like this one. Alright off you go! We'll be watching." Chris heads off to watch the action on the screens in the viewing room.

Duncan, Courtney and Heather stand where they are and look at each other in silence.

"Courtney, pick up that rock for me and I'll share my winnings with you," Heather says. Courtney looks at her disdainfully and rolls her eyes. "It was worth a try," Heather shrugs. Courtney walks off and into the dining hall.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Manipulating people, nice one Alejandro. Maybe I am good at that, but it's much easier to manipulate people when they don't know they're being manipulated!"

* * *

"What's she doing?" Duncan asks Heather. Heather shrugs. "Should we follow her?"

"I don't know why you suddenly think we're a we." Heather says.

"You didn't vote me off, I thought you must be on my side," Duncan replies.

"It didn't mean anything. Anyway, I'm not following her in there, it's probably a trap." Heather flicks her hair and heads off into her cabin. Duncan ignores her and follows Courtney into the dining hall.

"Stop following me," Courtney says.

"Well I can't now, or that would be doing something for you, and I'd lose the challenge." Duncan reasons. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"Maybe you should do something for me. You claim you want me back, why don't you help me by getting yourself eliminated." Courtney suggests.

"Yeah, because I'm sure as soon as I do that you'll suddenly change your mind and want to be with me." Duncan says sarcastically.

"So what you're saying is you don't trust me, and you value a million dollars over me," Courtney says.

"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it. Stop twisting my words." Duncan says exasperatedly.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let's make up." Courtney says, changing her tune extremely quickly.

"Huh?" says Duncan.

"I really want you to kiss me," Courtney bats her eyelashes at him. Duncan rolls his eyes.

"Heather was right, this is a trap," he says. Courtney gives up her seduction attempts.

"Well, I thought it was a great plan," Courtney says.

"Except it didn't work," Duncan says.

"Only because you're a complete jerk who doesn't mean a word he says," Courtney retorts.

"You disgust me," Duncan shakes his head as he leaves the dining hall. He grins though once his back is to her.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"That was pretty low of Courtney to try and trick me into losing the challenge using seduction. But then again it's shit like that that makes me love her even more."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Manipulating Duncan used to be so easy. I used to think that was a good thing, but is it weird that I kind of liked that he stood up to me? I mean, without resorting to petty insults… is it possible that he's actually… grown up?"

* * *

"Courtney won't listen to me," Duncan says to Heather who is doing her nails in the girls' cabin.

"This is the girls' cabin," she says snarkily.

"I'm aware of that, thanks. But seriously I don't know what to do anymore." Duncan says sadly, sitting on Courtney's bed.

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it?" Heather says, holding her hands out to admire her handiwork.

"You guys are close now, I thought maybe you could put in a good word on my behalf," Duncan suggests.

"No way," Heather refuses.

"Oh come on, why not?" Duncan pleads.

"Courtney's way too good for you and she knows it, nothing I say is going to make her think different," Heather says.

"What do you think though? I mean, if it was you, could you ever forgive me?" Duncan asks.

"Are you actually asking me for advice?" Heather wonders, incredulously.

"Uh, I guess so?" Duncan shrugs.

"Look, Duncan. I don't want to go behind Courtney's back and tell you everything she's said about you, but I will say this. Don't give up hope just yet." Heather says seriously.

"So you'll try and convince her?" Duncan asks hopefully.

"I might," Heather concedes.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I get the feeling that Duncan genuinely loves Courtney and wants her back for good. I know that Courtney still loves him and honestly if she doesn't do something about it she might end up regretting it for the rest of her life. As her friend it's my duty to ensure her happiness, right?"

* * *

Heather gets up and starts to walk out of the cabin.

"Where are you going?" Duncan asks.

"I'm going to talk to Courtney, obviously." Heather snaps. "Don't make me change my mind by asking stupid questions." Duncan is silent and as Heather stalks out of the cabin he smirks to himself.

* * *

Courtney sits at the table in the dining hall as before, trying to figure out a way to make someone do something for her when Heather enters and sits across from her.

"Have you thought about what I said last night?" Heather asks.

"What did you say?" Courtney tries to remember.

"About Duncan." Heather prompts. Courtney shrugs. "Courtney, listen to me, if you have any feelings for him at all, as I suspect you do, you can't keep pushing him away. He's going home tonight, we both know that. It might be your last chance." Heather says.

"I know," Courtney says. "But how can I ever forgive him? How can I ever trust him? How can I ever believe that he really wants me? He's made it perfectly clear in the past that he hates a lot of things about me." Courtney says, welling up.

"And you made it perfectly clear there were a lot of things you hated about him, but do you still hate those things?" Heather pushes. "Sometimes you have to let go of the past so that you can have a happy future. At least give him a chance to tell you how he really feels." she says more gently. Courtney nods, wiping her tears away.

"God, why do I do this so much lately?" she laughs through her tears.

"Maybe the tinman finally grew a heart!" Heather jokes. Courtney pokes her tongue out.

"Where's Duncan now?" Courtney asks.

"Are you going to talk to him now?" Heather says in wonderment. Courtney nods.

"Just to hear him out though. I'm not committing to anything," Courtney assures.

"No one said you had to! He's in the girl's cabin." Heather tells her.

"Really? Why?" Courtney says, confused.

"I was talking to him just before," Heather shrugs.

"Oh my god. Heather, did he tell you to say all that to me?" Courtney asks urgently. Heather looks a little sheepish.

"Well, not exactly. He just wanted me to put in a good word, but I wouldn't have done it if I didn't believe he was actually genuine. I personally hate that guy, but I like you." Heather reassures. Courtney groans.

"Heather, you are such an idiot! And I really am too! Ugh!" Courtney moans.

"Excuse me? What are you so upset about? It's not like it changes how you feel, right?" Heather defends.

"No, but it changes the fact that you didn't think of it yourself, you DID IT FOR DUNCAN. You got played, Heather, we both did." Courtney says. Heather's mouth drops open and Chris and Duncan walk into the dining hall, Duncan looking very smug and pleased with himself.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Argh! How could I have fallen for that dumb trick?! How did I not see through that dumb punks façade. I must really be going soft if I can let some skeeze fool me into thinking he's in love. And this is why I hate people!"

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"I can't actually believe Heather did it! It really wasn't that hard, it's not like I was saying anything that wasn't true, I just happened to be saying it at a time that would win me a challenge."

* * *

Courtney folds her arms and glares at Duncan and Heather does the same.

"Duncan is the winner of the third challenge! Wow, Heather, I never would have thought you'd fall for a sob story like that!" Chris laughs. Heather shoots daggers at Chris. "Moving on! You now each hold a point each so whoever wins this last challenge has a guaranteed spot in the final two and gets to choose who they take with them." Chris declares. "The last challenge has been thought up by the winner of Total Drama All-Stars, Mike."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Ugh."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I hate that guy! He got me eliminated."

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"All I can say about Mike is… who?"

* * *

"Mike, or Mal as some of you may know him," Chris starts.

"Ohh, the multiple personalities guy. Didn't he turn out to be evil or something?" Duncan asks.

"One of his personalities was, but then… something to do with Zoey…"

"Ugh." Heather interrupts.

"And… yeah. The details are a little fuzzy. Anyway he won season five so now you have to do a challenge created by him." Chris says. "And the challenge is…" Chris opens the envelope he has been holding. "Little Red Riding Hood? Seriously, what is up with these challenges?" Chris frowns, but continues reading. "First you have to bake some cookies. Then you have to walk through the woods and pick some flowers, without being caught by the wolf. Actually, this is getting good!" Chris's frown turns into a grin. "Lastly you have to make it to Grandma's House and fight the wolf!"

"Real wolves?" asks Courtney.

"We don't have any real wolves so it will have to be Chef. Whoever gets to Grandma's house first will have first shot at fighting him. Alright, get to baking!" Chris claps his hands and Heather, Courtney and Duncan run off to the kitchen. There are already baking materials set out for them on the bench and three cookie recipes. All three contestants grab a recipe and begin working, without really paying attention to each other.

CONFESSIONAL: Duncan

"Things always seem to be the best with Courtney when were having fun together and mucking around, so if I can just get her to smile, maybe I can go from there."

* * *

Duncan looks up from his mixture and glances at Courtney. She's totally involved in what she's doing, her brow furrowed as she reads the recipe and follows its instructions. Duncan smiles to himself as he watches her.

"Wow," Heather says from across the bench in front of him. Duncan flicks his gaze towards her.

"What?" he snaps.

"I thought maybe everything you said to me was a load of crap, just to win the challenge, but now I'm so sure." Heather says.

"What do you mean?" Duncan asks.

"I've seen that look before," Heather says knowingly.

"Yeah so what? That's what I've been trying to say all along. She really means something to me." Duncan says.

"Is that it?" Heather raises her eyebrows.

"Is what it?" Duncan asks, exasperated.

"Nothing. Just I doubt "you really mean something to me" is what she wants to hear." Heather shrugs. "What are you going to do about it anyway?" Duncan raises one eyebrow and looks at Heather knowingly.

"Hey Courtney," he calls. Courtney looks up.

"What?" she asks shortly. Duncan grabs a handful of flour and throws it at her with a grin. The flour hits her in the face and instead of throwing flour back like Duncan had hoped, she simply glares at him and continues baking.

"Nice work, Casanova." Heather rolls her eyes. Duncan sighs.

* * *

Courtney's perfect cookies are out of the oven first and she tips them into a basket and hurries out into the woods. Duncan and Heather aren't far behind but their cookies don't look nearly as nice. Courtney heads off the path to find some wildflowers. Duncan walks along the path and picks whatever flowers he can reach. Heather follows Courtney off the path.

"You look ridiculous," Heather says once she catches up to Courtney who is kneeling in a patch of yellow flowers.

"Wow, thanks," Courtney rolls her eyes.

"I just mean the fact that you have flour on your face." Heather says, kneeling beside Courtney and chucking flowers into her basket.

"Oh." Courtney says, brushing the flour from her face.

"Are you alright?" Heather asks.

"Of course, it's just flour," Courtney responds.

"That's not what I meant." Heather says. Courtney looks up at her slowly.

"I'm so conflicted. A part of me really wants to try again with him, but another part can't totally believe he won't hurt me again. I just wish I knew how he really felt, you know? I feel like I can't trust my own instincts on this." Courtney shakes her head.

"You have the best instincts of anyone I know. Other than me of course." Heather says boastfully.

"Heather, not an hour ago you were tricked into losing a challenge." Courtney reminds her.

"Ugh, whatever." Heather folds her arms. "I'm pretty sure my instincts are right in this, and that's that he…" Heather starts.

"He what?" Courtney asks. Heather stands up.

"Never mind, he really should tell you himself." Heather walks back towards the path.

"Heather!" Courtney calls after her angrily.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"As if I'm not confused enough already! Where was Heather going with that sentence?"

* * *

Heather makes it back to the path and tries to walk fast so she can catch up to Duncan. She isn't really paying much attention to her surroundings so she is caught completely off guard when Chef jumps out from behind a tree wearing a tail and ears.

"Ah!" she screams. She swings her basket at his face but he grabs it and crushes it. Heather gulps and starts to run but Chef grabs her and throws her over his shoulder. He carries her to "Grandmas House" which is just a shed that has been put up and happens to have a bed and closet inside. Chef throws Heather in the closet and locks it before getting into the bed just as Duncan arrives.

"Well, hello Little Red!" Chef says in a high pitched voice. "What have you got there?"

"Uh… some cookies and flowers?" Duncan says, throwing them at Chef. "Wow, so, Granny, you have really big eyes…"

"All the better to see you with!" Chef cackles.

"And um…" Duncan hesitates. "Big ears?"

"All the better to hear you with, my dear!"

"Also, you have larger teeth than usual." Duncan finishes.

"All the better to eat you with!" Chef jumps out of the bed and punches Duncan in the face. Duncan immediately drops to the ground as Courtney runs into the shed. Chef turns his attention to her. He tries to grab her but she ducks out of the way and kicks him where it hurts. Chef drops to his knees and Courtney swings her basket at his head, knocking him out cold.

"What's going on out there?" Heather calls from inside the closet. Courtney goes over and opens it, letting Heather out. "Who won?" she asks. "Never mind." She says, noticing both Duncan and Chef lying on the floor.

* * *

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Yes! I'm in the final two. This has got to be the best moment of my life. Other than when I win, of course. Now just to choose who I will compete against!"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Thank god Duncan didn't win. Now it will be me and Courtney in the finale. I'm fairly certain."

* * *

Courtney stands next to Chris on the dock, facing Duncan and Heather.

"Courtney, please tell me who you would like to send home," Chris says.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I made an alliance with Heather, we said we'd go to the final two together. But there's something inside me that knows if I send Duncan home, that will be the end for us… and I'm not sure if anything will happen between us, or even if I really want it to… but I don't want to know that it couldn't."

* * *

Courtney bites her lip in hesitation. An extremely long silence follows as she tries to sort out her thoughts.

"Uh, Courtney? I need your answer TODAY!" Chris demands.

"I'd like to send home… Duncan," Courtney finally answers.

"Finally. Okay, Duncan please get on the boat of losers!" Chris says. Duncan walks over and gets onto the boat as Courtney stands beside Heather. Courtney can feel herself choking up at the thought of finally letting him go for good. Chef gets on the boat, ready to steer Duncan away from CampWawanakwa.

"Wait!" Courtney calls, running back to the boat. Duncan looks at her in surprise. "Stay completely still, okay?" she whispers. Duncan nods. Courtney closes her eyes and presses her lips gently against his and despite everything in his body telling him to grab her and never let her go, Duncan manages to hold still. Courtney's hands move up to Duncan's face as she deepens the kiss. Eventually she breaks away but she doesn't remove her hands from his face.

"Goodbye," she whispers and turns and walks back to Heather.

"What was all that?" Heather asks.

"That's the last time I will ever see him," Courtney says. A tear drops gently onto her cheek as Chef drives the boat away and she quickly wipes it away. "And that is the last tear I will ever cry over him." Courtney turns and heads back to the cabins but Heather stays where she is.

"Wow Chris, I can't believe you actually let them have a goodbye kiss, that is so unlike you," she says. Chris doesn't respond. "Chris?" Heather looks over at him to see him sobbing. Chris turns to the camera, still sobbing.

"Will Duncan and Courtney ever get back together? Will my divorce from Blaineley ever be finalised? And who will win one million dollars? Find out next time on Total Drama Ten Years Later!" Chris manages to get out before her bursts into a fresh round of tears.

"Ugh, men are such babies!" Heather rolls her eyes and goes back to her cabin.

**Note - I am so sorry this chapter took so long! Long story short my laptop was playing up and I had to take it to the repair guys and I just got it back today so I've been writing tirelessly for three hours! Anyway, I know some of you were hoping for a Duncan/Courtney finale but I have been planning a Heather/Courtney finale from the start. Don't worry all the eliminated contestants will return for the finale and maybe some other characters too ;)**


	21. Royals

**Chapter Twenty-One – Royals**

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not mad at Courtney for hesitating when she was choosing who to send home. It was a difficult decision but she made the right one in the end."

* * *

"Alright you two, get up, it's time to go!" Chef yells, storming into the girls' cabin.

"Where are we going?" Heather asks groggily.

"The last challenge isn't on the island. Pack your things and be quick about it, I ain't got all day." Chef demands.

"Why isn't the last challenge on the island?" Courtney asks, getting out of bed.

"Chris wants it to be glamorous. He's already been in hair and make-up for two hours. Now stop asking stupid questions and get ready!" Chef storms out of the cabin and leaves the girls to it.

"Courtney, I know we're friends now and everything, but don't think that means I won't do everything I can to win the challenge today." Heather says.

"I wouldn't expect anything less. In fact I'd probably think less of you if you didn't." Courtney responds.

"So we'll still be friends, even if I have to push you into a volcano to get the million?" Heather asks.

"Yes," Courtney laughs. "But be warned, I might do the same."

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"Wow, so this is what the final two feels like. Clearly, I should've been in the final two before this but Chris never plays by his own rules. Now that I've finally made it though, I intend to win, and not even Heather can stand in my way."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I'm still owed the million dollars that was STOLEN from me after I won World Tour. Don't get me wrong, Courtney is deserving of it and all that, but we all know who the real winner is here, and I'm going to prove it."

* * *

Chef flies the girls from CampWawanakwa to Toronto in Chris' plane. They are taken from the airport in a limousine.

"Wow, Chris has really gone all out for this finale," Heather says.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Chef responds.

"Why is going to so much trouble? Why does he want it to be glamorous? He normally wants it to be as messy as possible." Courtney wonders.

"I'm not supposed to say anything," says Chef. "He'll tell you himself later."

"Mysterious." Heather says, raising her eyebrows.

* * *

The girls and Chef are taken to a fancy hotel where they drop their bags and are then immediately taken into a room that has been set up like a dressing room. Chris is sitting there having his hair done.

"Finally!" he says when Heather, Courtney and Chef walk in. "That's enough!" he waves the hairdresser away. "You two girls sit down, you look horrible. Seriously, let's get some make-up on these girls, stat!" Chris claps his hands and looks around for the make-up artist. Courtney and Heather glare at him but they sit down anyway and allow people to fuss over their hair and make-up. After that is done they are each handed a dress and told to put them on. They are both unnecessarily extravagant floor length ballgowns. Heather's dress is navy blue and extremely glittery and hugs her figure all the way down to her legs, while Courtney's is emerald green and flows out from her waist. Once dressed, Chris leads the girls out of the dressing room. As they walk into the hallway Chef calls out.

"Oh wait, Courtney, I was supposed to give you this," he says, handing her a letter. "It's from Duncan." Courtney takes the letter and goes to open it.

"No time for that!" Chris stops her, "you can read it later!" Courtney tucks the letter into her cleavage and follows Chris down the hallway. He eventually stops at some double doors.

"Alright, it's challenge time! I hope you two are ready for last challenge ever!" Chris says dramatically. Heather and Courtney stare at him and wait for him to continue. "Behind these doors is a ballroom. The guests are every contestant that has ever competed in Total Drama over the years, some of them you will know and some of them you will not. There are two people in there, one for each of you, that is hiding a diamond tiara. Find that person and the tiara and you will win a million dollars." Chris explains.

"How do we find the person?" Heather asks.

"I'm getting to that!" Chris snaps. "I'm going to give you your first clue now. From there you will have to talk to guests at the ball to find out who has the tiara and where they are. Be warned though, some people are required to lie to everything you say to them, so make sure they're an honest person first. Now are you ready to go in?" Chris asks. The girls nod, but they know Chris would send them in, ready or not. "One last thing, you can't attend the ball without an escort so I've taken the liberty of arranging one for each of you," Chris chuckles. Heather and Courtney look at each other worriedly. "Heather here's your escort," Chris gestures to a nearby doorway as it opens, and Alejandro steps out. Heather's face lights up and she runs to him and throws her arms around him before he dips her and kisses her. He whispers something in her ear.

"You know I don't speak Spanish," Heather replies as he puts her upright.

"You really should learn, you know, I expect our children to speak Spanish. I only said that I hope you crush Courtney in today's challenge," he smiles, keeping his arm around her waist. Courtney watches and she can't help but feel a pang of jealousy, not because she wants Alejandro, but just because the two of them are so obviously in love.

"Well, that's a given," Heather says in response to Alejandro. "No offence, Court," Heather tacks on. Courtney gives a half hearted smile and begins to wonder who her escort will be.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"If Chris makes Duncan my escort, I'm going to have to kill him."

* * *

"And Courtney, your escort is…" Chris gestures to another door and sure enough out walks Duncan. Courtney's heart starts thumping extremely loudly and she wonders if everyone else can hear it. If they do, they don't show it. Duncan walks over to her and takes her arm.

"You look beautiful," he says.

"Thanks," Courtney says faintly.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"I really was an idiot to think once I voted Duncan off the island that would be the last time I'd see him. How could I forget that Chris always brings back the other contestants for the finale? And how did Duncan manage to look so good? He's so annoying!"

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Is Chris trying to throw Courtney off her game by bringing Duncan back? That is so wrong. On the other hand, it's great for me!"

* * *

"No one is allowed to tell you anything unless you ask them. Once you've entered the ballroom the challenge starts and Alejandro and Duncan go back to being just ex-contestants. The same rules apply to them as to the others do don't expect them to be telling you any extra information, because they don't know anything. You girls are on your own, the boys are just for show." Chris warns. "Here's your first clue!"

Chris hands the Heather and Courtney an envelope each then opens the double doors and steps into the ballroom, onto a balcony above the crowd. "Attention, everyone, our guests of honour have arrived!" he must be wearing a microphone because his voice rings out throughout the room. "Presenting the final two of Total Drama Ten Years Later, Heather and Courtney!" Chris turns and gestures for them to come into the room. Courtney holds her head up high and tries to ignore the fact that Duncan is right beside her and that she has her arm through his. It makes it difficult though, when he is whispering in her ear.

"Did you read the letter?" he whispers. Courtney shakes her head. "Oh." Duncan says. Chris turns and frowns at him for talking. He starts walking down the staircase and onto the main floor of the ballroom and Courtney, Duncan, Heather and Alejandro follow him. They look out to the ballroom as they descend and see all the familiar faces from this season as well as a lot of people they've never seen before. Once they've reached the bottom of the staircase Alejandro gives Heather a kiss and disappears into the crowd and Duncan follows him with a glance back at Courtney. Courtney and Heather both open their first clue and begin to read.

CONFESSIONAL: Courtney

"The rightful owner of this tiara would never have let it out of her sight had it been in the form of Cody. Clearly it's Sierra."

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"This sparkly head thingy belongs to someone who probably isn't even sure how to wear it. The only person stupid enough to fit this description is Lindsay."

* * *

Heather and Courtney look up at each other after reading their clues.

"Well, good luck," says Courtney.

"You too," Heather smiles and then they both head off to find Sierra and Lindsay. Heather spots Lindsay dancing with Tyler on the dancefloor. She seems to be enjoying herself despite the fact that Tyler keeps stepping on her feet. Heather hurries over to her.

"Lindsay!" Heather says brightly.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Sucking up to Lindsay makes me sick, but you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar or whatever that dumb saying is."

* * *

"Oh, hey Heather!" Lindsay says, ceasing her dancing and turning to Heather. "Congratulations on making it to the final two!"

"Thanks!" Heather smiles fakely. "So, I hear you've lost something important to you?" Heather says, getting to the point.

"Like what?" Lindsay asks, confused.

"A tiara?" Heather sighs.

"What's a tiara?" Lindsay wonders. Heather rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath to keep from shaking some sense into Lindsay.

"You know, jewellery you wear on your head?" Heather says.

"Remember what Chris told you earlier, babe?" Tyler reminds Lindsay.

"Ohh, right! Yeah it was stolen from me! Chris said if anyone asked, I was to tell them that I took it to a jeweller to have it cleaned so I could wear it tonight but when I went to pick it up, he told me that my assistant had already done it for me. The only thing is I don't have an assistant!" Lindsay says.

"Did the jeweller say what your assistant looked like?" Heather asks.

"It was a man with red hair and glasses." Lindsay tells her.

"Harold!" Heather immediately guesses. Lindsay shrugs and goes back to dancing with Tyler.

* * *

Courtney approaches Sierra who is holding Cody tightly but is in deep conversation with Zoey.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm trying to win a challenge here," Courtney butts in. Zoey purses her lips but allows Courtney to steal Sierra away.

"Sierra, I need you to tell me everything you know about your missing tiara," Courtney instructs.

"Oh it's so tragic!" Sierra says dramatically. "It was a present from my Codykins and I was so looking forward to wearing it to the ball tonight but it was in my bag, and when I went to pick it up there were two the same. I thought I grabbed my own but I must have been wrong!" Sierra bursts into tears.

"Sierra, calm down, it wasn't really your tiara, it's just for the challenge." Cody says.

"Shh, stay in character!" Sierra scolds.

"So do you know who's bag you've got?" Courtney asks.

"No, but I can tell you what was in it. It was full of dumbbells!" Sierra says.

* * *

"I'd really love to help you Heather, but I'm afraid I can't," says Harold. Heather stamps her foot.

"Oh don't give me that. I know you don't really want to help me, but you have to because that's part of your job in this challenge. And Lindsay just told me you stole her tiara." Heather snaps.

"Gosh!" says Harold.

"Harold, just tell me what you know, or Courtney will win!" Heather says.

"Why should I care who wins? I don't like either of you," Harold says.

"Please Harold!" Heather begs.

CONFESSIONAL: Harold

"Has Heather ever said please before in her life? She must really be desperate."

* * *

"Okay, fine. I went to the jeweller and pretended to be Lindsay's assistant so I could get her tiara. But when I went to get its value checked, they told me it was a fake. Someone must have got there before me and stolen it!" Harold confesses.

"Well how am I supposed to find out who stole it?" Heather demands.

"I don't know! Why don't you ask someone who steals things, gosh!" Harold says and starts to walk away.

"Wait, I have to find out if you're a liar or not!" Heather calls after him. She tries to think of a question she can ask him to find out if he's a liar. "Whose boobs did you see in TotalDramaIsland?" Harold turns back to her and raises his eyebrows.

"Yours, of course." Then he giggles to himself and walks away.

* * *

Courtney sees Heather talking to Harold across the room and quickly grabs the shoulder of Eva, the first person she that came to mind when Sierra said dumbbells. She realises grabbing Eva from behind is mistake however, when Eva turns around and swings her fist at Courtney's face. Courtney manages to avoid the blow but Eva looks extremely angry.

"What do you want?" she spits. She's wearing a dress again, probably only the second time in her life, and it's a lot more flattering on her than the pink monstrosity Courtney had made her wear for the date challenge.

CONFESSIONAL: Eva

"Courtney and Heather in the finale, what a joke. It should be me. Courtney is a backstabbing traitor like the rest of the Killer Bass and Heather is just a bitch. Neither of them deserve the million dollars, they got there by lying and scheming, it should be someone who actually worked hard to get there! Like me!"

* * *

Courtney actually looks a little scared as she explains to Eva what she wants.

"Uh, sorry Eva, but I think you may have picked up Sierra's bag, because she has yours." Courtney says.

"So what if I did? What's it to you?" Eva folds her arms.

"Well, there was a tiara in there that was given to her by Cody, and I'd really like to help her out by getting it back." Courtney says.

"Yeah right, like you'd ever help anyone but yourself!" Eva scoffs.

"Excuse me, that is extremely untrue and I'm very offended that you would think that!" Courtney defends.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. I got rid of the bag." Eva tells her.

"What did you do with it?" Courtney asks.

"I just chucked it into the hallway. There was nothing good in it anyway, just the tiara and a lot of snack food. Which I don't eat, obviously." Eva flexes her muscles and Courtney backs away.

"Great, thanks!" she says, getting away from Eva as fast as possible.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"Obviously when Harold said 'someone who steals things' he meant Duncan, right?"

* * *

It takes her a while but Heather finally spots Duncan brooding in the corner.

"Where's the tiara?" she says. Duncan shrugs. "What's wrong with you?" she asks.

"I can't enjoy myself." He says.

"Is this about Courtney?" Heather inquires. Duncan nods. "Duncan, don't be an idiot." Heather snaps.

"She didn't read the letter, I really thought she would." Duncan says sadly.

"She didn't have time! Chef gave it to her like thirty seconds before we saw you. Now will you stop acting like a lovesick teenager and tell me where the tiara is!" Heather demands.

"I don't know, I never saw it," Duncan says, confused.

"Are you lying to me?" Heather says suspiciously.

"No, the people who have been told to lie have to lie about everything." Duncan says.

"But Harold said to find someone who steals things!" Heather protests.

"Maybe he means someone who stole his heart," Duncan snickers, finally returning to his old self.

"Wow, you're right!" Heather says.

"Uh, Heather, I was kidding." Duncan says but Heather is already walking away. Duncan shrugs and scans the crowd for Courtney, hoping she's doing better than Heather. He sees that she is talking to Owen and Noah.

* * *

"So, Owen, found any good snacks lying around lately?" Courtney asks as she sidles up to Owen and Noah.

"Ooh yeah, well over at the buffet table there's…" Owen starts.

"No, I mean did you happen to find a bag full of snacks in the hallway somewhere?" Courtney cuts him off.

"Ohh. Well now that you mention it, yes I did." Owen says. Owen starts listing everything that he ate out of the bag. Courtney feels someone watching her and she looks up to meet Duncan's eyes. She smiles at him timidly and he smiles back, a little sadly, then walks into the crowd. Courtney frowns slightly before turning her attention back to Owen. She's about to ask him what he did with the tiara when the music stops and Chris's voice fills the room again. Everyone looks over at the stage which Courtney hadn't noticed before but there is a band standing there, and Chris is standing at the microphone, having just interrupted their playing.

"Attention everyone, I have a very important announcement to make. I know we're in the middle of a challenge, but this won't take long. You're probably all wondering why I've gathered you all here tonight, and why I've made this challenge such a special event." Chris begins. "I've been the host of Total Drama for ten years now, and may I just say what an attractive and talented host I have been. I have grown fond of all of you,"

"Yeah right," someone yells. Chris glares into the audience.

"As I was saying, this show and most of its contestants have really meant a lot to me. That is why I am saddened to tell you that this will be the last season that I will host Total Drama!" Chris announces.

"Finally!" Noah says under his breath.

"I know this will come as a shock to all of you, and you will all be very heartbroken. The network has not decided if they will carry on Total Drama without me or not, but whether or not they do, it will always live on in our hearts," Chris says, putting his hand to his heart dramatically. Everyone is silent. "That's all. I've finished the announcement." Chris says into the microphone.

"Do we clap?" Owen asks Courtney and Noah. Noah shrugs. Someone in the audience starts clapping and as the three of them look over they see that it's Chef. Owen joins in and soon enough the whole crowd starts applauding Chris. He takes a bow and leaves the stage and the band continues playing.

"I'm not going to miss him," says Noah.

"Anyway, Owen, what did you do with the tiara you found in the bag of snacks?" Courtney asks.

"I gave it to Gwen," Owen says.

"Really, that's it? No obscure clue? You're just going to tell me who you gave it to?" Courtney says warily.

"Yeah," Owen answers.

"You might be lying. What season of Total Drama did you win?" Courtney asks.

"TotalDramaIsland," Owen confirms.

"Okay, it seems like you're honest." She leaves Owen to go and find Gwen.

CONFESSIONAL: Heather

"I know Duncan was joking about the whole stealing Harold's heart thing, but it's worth a try."

* * *

"Hey, Leshawna!" Heather beams. Leshawna purses her lips and glares. "Look, I know we've had our differences, but I really need your help right now."

"Mmhmm," Leshawna responds sassily.

"Did you happen to sneak into a jeweller and steal a tiara?" Heather asks.

"I most certainly did not. What would I want with a glorified hunk of metal?" Leshawna says.

"It's made of diamonds." Heather says pointedly. "Wait. Leshawna, would you consider me a close friend of yours?" she asks.

"Of course," says Leshawna.

"Ha. You're lying, I knew it. Okay so you stole the tiara. Did you give it to someone else?"

"No!" Leshawna denies.

"Was it someone who competed this season?"

"No…"

"Male or female?"

"Female."

"Okay, so a male who competed in this season… was he on the Killer Bass or the Screaming Gophers?" Heather asks.

"The Bass," Leshawna replies.

"Ugh, this is excruciating! There must be an easier way to get information out of you!" Heather complains.

"You're telling me!" Leshawna rolls her eyes. "Look, I'm sick of this. The person you're looking for is not a model, got it?" Leshawna hints.

"Got it! Thanks Leshawna, you're the best!"

* * *

"Gwen!" Courtney says and Gwen turns around.

"Courtney, finally!" the girls hug. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Courtney replies. "I mean, I'm great. Why wouldn't I be, I'm in this close to a million dollars." She smiles.

"Listen, I know you want to know about the tiara, but I really want to ask you about Duncan." Gwen says. They search the crowd for Heather and see her approach Leshawna.

"I think we've got time," Courtney laughs.

"So… are you two going to get back together?" Gwen gets straight to the point. Courtney sighs.

"I don't know… I… I think after this is all over I really need to talk to him," Courtney says.

"Did you read the letter?" Gwen asks.

"You know about that?" Courtney frowns.

"Well, yeah, he told me about it while we were on LoserIsland. He didn't say what he wrote though. So did you?"

"No…" Courtney says.

"Really? He was certain you would… he basically said that if you didn't read it he'd know there was no hope and that it would be a sign for him to let go," Gwen says.

"He said that?" Courtney asks. Gwen nods. "I just haven't had time! I'll go and read it now," Courtney says and starts to leave.

"But what about the tiara?" Gwen reminds her.

"It can wait!" Courtney calls back to her, rushing off. Gwen I left gobsmacked.

CONFESSIONAL: Gwen

"Courtney is abandoning her search for the tiara to read a letter from Duncan? This is the same girl who left him alone with a twisted ankle for a million dollars. The same one who wrote him a 32 page letter of guidelines for their relationship and an entire list of things he should change about himself. And now she's running off to read a letter, most likely giving up any chance of winning, just because there's a tiny possibility she might lose him for good if she doesn't? All I can say is… wow. I guess people really do change."

* * *

Courtney runs into the bathroom, pulling the letter from Duncan out of her cleavage. She goes into a stall, locks the door, puts the lid of the toilet down and sits down.

_Courtney,_

_ I'm writing you this letter because I honestly don't know if you'll ever let me speak to you again, and I never really got a chance to say all the things I needed to say to you. I don't know why you kissed me back at the dock, but it felt like you were trying to say goodbye. Courtney, please do not give up on me. I know I've been an idiot and I am so sorry for everything I did to hurt you, and I know I did a lot. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. I finally learned why you pretended to be engaged to Noah. Bridgette told me it was for protection against me. So you wouldn't be tempted to start something with me again and with the hope that if you were taken I would leave you alone. I'm so sorry you ever felt you needed to do that and I'm sorry I didn't heed your wishes. If you tell me that you never want to see me again after you read this, I promise I won't bother you again, but I hope you don't regret anything that happened between us while we were on the island, because I don't. I had the most fun when I was with you, and I hope I'm right in saying you had fun with me. I know fun can't fix everything but it's a start right? There's so much more I want to say to you, but I don't want to write it in this letter because I feel like that would be taking the coward's way out. I'll be at tomorrow's challenge, if you feel anything for me, and want to try this again, please come and find me and let me say the rest._

_ Love, Duncan._

Courtney reads the words three times before they truly sink in. Her heart flips over every time she reads the last part. It isn't everything she needs to hear, but it's certainly a start. She holds the letter to her chest, her heart pounding. She feels kind of lightheaded and something else, almost hopeful. She makes her decision then, standing up and fumbling with the lock on the door. She rushes out of the bathroom and sees Heather talking to Justin. Chris hadn't told them how many people they'd have to talk to before they found the tiara, so she has no idea how close Heather is, or even how close she is herself. For all she knows, Gwen had the last clue. But instead of looking for Gwen, she searches the room for Duncan. She doesn't see him but she spots Geoff talking to DJ so she goes over to them.

"Geoff, where's Duncan?" Courtney asks urgently.

"Why do you want to know?" Geoff asks.

"Because I read his letter and I really want to talk to him!" Courtney snaps.

"Are you going to break his heart?" Geoff frowns.

"No!" Courtney stamps her foot impatiently. "I want to tell him that I… forgive him. So where is he?" Geoff's expression softens and he glances at DJ nervously.

"Court… I'm really sorry, but he left." Geoff says.

"He left?" Courtney whispers, feeling like she's been punched in the chest. "Why? What did he say?"

"He said… he thought you didn't love him and there was no point hanging around for a lost cause," Geoff says, cringing.

"But I do! I do." Courtney says in despair. Geoff and DJ exchange a look of surprise.

"You do?" Geoff asks. Courtney nods.

"Well, it wasn't that long ago, maybe he's still here," DJ says, glancing around.

"I think he went that way," Geoff says, pointing toward the exit. Courtney picks up her skirts and runs in the direction that Geoff is pointing.

"Courtney, wait!" Geoff calls. Courtney stops and turns back to him. He frowns, as if he is trying to think of the right thing to say. "Just so you know, Bridgette doesn't have the tiara!"

"Okay… thanks!" she's slightly confused by the last comment but she shakes it off and runs out into the hallway of the hotel. There's no sign of Duncan in the hallways or in the lobby. She goes to the front desk to ask after him.

"I haven't seen anyone of that description, sorry ma'am," says the receptionist. "It's possible he slipped by without me noticing though, we've been very busy." Defeated, Courtney turns around to head back to the ballroom when she notices Bridgette and Lindsay chatting by an indoor tree fern.

"Bridgette?" Courtney says. Bridgette turns around.

"Finally! I thought you'd never get here! Come on, let's go!" Bridgette grabs Courtney's arm and drags her back towards the ballroom.

"Why are you out here in the lobby?" Courtney asks, confused.

"Oh, that's just where Chris told us to be. I had to miss half the party but I don't mind, the rest will be much better now!" Bridgette smiles as they run towards the ballroom. Halfway back they see Heather coming towards them.

"No!" Heather cries, running past them.

"Better luck next time!" Bridgette laughs.

"It's not over yet!" Heather calls back. Bridgette and Courtney enter the ballroom and Bridgette leads Courtney over to the stage.

"Bridgette, seriously, what's going on?" Courtney hisses as they climb the stairs.

"Don't you know?" Bridgette says in surprise.

"No!" Courtney snaps.

"I'm about to crown you the winner of Total Drama Ten Years Later, so hurry up before Heather gets back!" Bridgette says urgently.

"Wait, what? You have the tiara?" Courtney asks, bewildered. Bridgette nods. "Geoff was lying," Courtney says, more to herself than to Bridgette.

"Yeah, Chris said he had to. Why, what did he say?"

"It doesn't matter," Courtney says, her heart swelling. Bridgette walks over to the microphone and Courtney follows her. The band stops playing and Heather and Lindsay burst into the ballroom. Before they can walk any further, Bridgette clears her throat and speaks into the microphone.

"I declare Courtney to be the winner of Total Drama Ten Years Later!" she pulls the tiara out of her bag and places it on Courtney's head. Chris walks out and shakes her hand as everyone applauds her victory.

"Congratulations Courtney, I'm so glad it wasn't Heather!" Chris says. Courtney beams. She looks out into the crowd, pretending to be drinking in their applause but really she's looking for someone. She finally spots him at the back with Geoff and DJ and he has a ridiculous smirk on his face.

"Let's get Heather and Lindsay up here!" Chris says. Heather and Lindsay walk onto the stage and Lindsay hands Heather her tiara.

"You get to keep the tiara," Lindsay consoles her. Heather rolls her eyes.

"Great." She says sarcastically. The band starts up again and Courtney walks over to Heather.

"Sorry you lost," she says.

"Me too." Heather says shortly. She sighs. "But I guess if I had to lose to someone, I'm glad it's you." She gives Courtney a hug. "Congrats, I guess."

"Maybe you can take over Chris's job as host and then convince the network to give you the million you lost out on." Courtney suggests.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'd be an excellent host. Way better, and hotter, than Chris." Heather smiles. The band stops playing again and Chris walks up to the microphone.

"Uh, Lindsay would like to sing a song. This is a cover of _Someone Somewhere Tonight _by Kellie Pickler." Chris announces. Lindsay steps up to the microphone and the band begins again. Heather and Courtney look at each other, ready to cringe at Lindsay's voice.

"Someone, somewhere tonight, is taking their first steps," Lindsay sings. Heather and Courtney look at her in surprise, as she actually sounds quite nice. Courtney looks out into the crowd at Duncan again. She can tell he's waiting for her so she makes her excuses to Heather and leaves the stage as Lindsay continues her song. Courtney walks across the ballroom until she is standing in front of Duncan.

"Princess," he bows. "May I have this dance?" he asks, holding out his hand. Courtney raises her eyebrows but she takes his hand. He spins her under his arm as they walk onto the dance floor. He doesn't really know how to dance so they just sway to the music. "So you read the letter," Duncan starts. Courtney nods, blushing. She realises Geoff and DJ probably told him everything she said and suddenly she feels shy and embarrassed. "You're adorable when you're embarrassed," Duncan laughs. Courtney glares at him. She drops her hands and goes to walk away but he just pulls her tighter to him.

"Don't be like that," he says.

"Well, you better get to the point then! And stop laughing at me." She snaps. Duncan nods.

"Courtney, I said most of what I needed to say in the letter, but there was one thing I had tell you face to face, or it wouldn't seem genuine." Duncan says.

"Okay," Courtney says in anticipation.

"I really… think you look great in a tiara. You should lose the dress though," he winks.

"Ugh!" Courtney pushes him away and goes to storm off again. Duncan grabs her arm and pulls her back to him, kissing her as he wraps his arms around her waist. She locks her arms around his neck as he dips her, still kissing her. Someone gives them a wolf whistle.

"Get a room!" calls Noah. Duncan and Courtney ignore them. Duncan stops the kiss for a second and they look into each others eyes.

"I'm so in love with you," he whispers. "I've been in love with you for ten years." He puts her upright but doesn't widen the distance between them.

"Why did it take you so long to tell me?" she asks.

"I was scared." he replies. She nods and kisses him again.

"Me too. And I love you, but I think you already knew that," she smiles.

"So… do you want to try this again?" Duncan asks, somehow still nervous that she'll say no. Courtney looks at him seriously.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Courtney asks.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You know who I am. I'm bossy and controlling and ambitious and I can't change." Courtney warns.

"I wouldn't want you to." Duncan replies, kissing her on the nose.

"We'll fight all the time," Courtney whispers.

"And it will be totally worth it," Duncan assures her.

"Okay," Courtney says quietly.

"Okay?" Duncan confirms. Courtney nods, tears filling her eyes.

"Damn," she says as Duncan wipes a tear from her cheek. "I said I wouldn't cry over you anymore."

"But these are happy tears, right?" Duncan asks. Courtney replies by grabbing his shirt and pulling his mouth to hers.

"You're still not my type," she says into his mouth. Duncan just laughs.

**Wow this is the end! Thanks to everyone who read this through to the end and to everyone who reviewed. Please let me know what you thought, I love the feedback! I hope it lived up to your expectations. Well anyway, bye for now!**


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